For The Best
by HSea
Summary: Dagger runs away leaving Zidane in charge of Alexandria. Why did she run away? Why Did Zidane wait two years to get her back? Read and see...Rated because of language.
1. Introduction : Zidane

For The Best.

All Final Fantasy 9 characters belong to square and not me.

Authors note: For this story, I have overlooked that fact that Vivi had children at the end of the game.

I never thought she would leave me. Throw me out, yes. Me to leave, yes. But for her to just leave, making a note being the only thing to remind me of how it was, one that she left not even for me to find, but with Steiner. It wasn't worth even thinking about back then because it was so ridiculous. Not for the fact that I was so cocky I thought she wouldn't leave me, but for the fact that she didn't just leave me, she left the whole of Alexandria, her home.

She never said exactly _why _she left, but I thought I could guess. It had been a hard struggle over those few years we had been ruling over Alexandria. I blamed everyone, everything, until I sat back and realised the only thing that could have happened was because of my own bastardly-stupid self.

When she left, I couldn't go after her. I had a city to rule.

I don't know where things would have started off, now I look back at it, it all seems tainted with a fake-happy edge to it. I suppose, I should start off at the wedding, go that far back and see if it was bad then. The wedding, the happiest day of my life...not.

Dagger, I mean, Garnet, was so wrapped up in the fact that we were getting married, the fact that Alexandria would have a king that she never noticed my attempts to ask her to stop, to take and step back and hear my side of this.

You see, I never wanted to get married, it wasn't because of Garnet, but I knew what it would make me feel like. Tied down. Tied down with no freedom. But I loved Garnet so much, I just wanted to make her feel alright, secure. Also, I knew Garnet would loose her people if she was with me and we weren't married. Being a Queen and not married to your partner, it just wasn't done.

I just wanted her to be happy.

We spent a fortune on the wedding. Pearls, sapphires, rubies, garnets, diamonds, all imported with the price jacked-up so many times... But I went along with all of it. I wore a suit that I didn't feel comfortable in, I had my hair cut short so that I wouldn't look scruffy, I even went along with all the make-up and styling so that I would look 'gorgeous' for the day, all for her.

The wedding was viewed from all the rooftops, like people do with a theatre, so I felt like I was acting in a play. But when Garnet, looking every inch the queen that she was, stepped out, glistening in garnets, rubies, pearls, sapphires, diamonds a at least a hundred other jewels I could not possibly name in this space, came out and the crowd cheered, it felt even more like a piece of acting. We got married, I mean, we said our lines and everything, but I never felt it was truly real. It felt more like a dream but with reality slipped in at the corners.

At the reception, I stayed close to Garnet, or leaned up against a wall. I knew no one, except my old friends, the Tantalus crew, Beatrix and Garnet of course, so I stayed out of everyone's way, later, when Garnet finally came over to me, I smiled at her and tried so hard to be happy, not just someone who wanted to go to bed early and for this nightmare to end. I mingled in with the crowd then, forcing up conversations with people, thanking them for their presents, listening to their comments on the wedding. And then, finally, they decided to leave. Garnet and I went to bed then, leaving the mess for the maids and servants to clean up.

The next day, we started work on OUR new rule over the land. I was accepted graciously as the new king. A person who knew what had to be done to Alexandria to make it a better, safer place. I tried hard on that too, just to see the smile on Garnet's face when she thought I was learning and coming up with good ideas.

Things were pretty good for a year, then things became doused down and we didn't see so much of each other. Our 'jobs' just did not allow it. We had to work so hard on that city that we forgot to keep our relationship intact. But I felt safe. Caged-in but safe. I didn't feel like it would all fall apart, I felt that we could live through anything. We could live through anything...

At the end of the second year, we still hadn't had an offspring to pass the royal crown down onto. Garnet and I were getting worried, and so, we took it out on each other. I still felt secure in our relationship, but Garnet was slipping, and I could see that. I took time off my jobs to help with hers and be around her, but all that did, was give us more opportunities for us to come to blows.

I got nervous around her, never sure if she would be in a good mood or not. At the end of the day, to help her unwind I would hum our song to her gently, massaging her feet and holding her close to me, comforting me too, that we would get through this and we would be fine.

Garnet and me, we were very happy to the outside world, to the kingdom we ruled over saw us happy and never arguing. Behind closed doors, we were shouting the castle down and Garnet was crying her eyes out while I was punching walls.

Two months afterwards, It was announced that Garnet was 2 weeks pregnant. Naturally, Garnet and I were over the moon. All traces of arguments and things that had happened just a few weeks ago were gone and we were inseparable. Whenever we weren't doing jobs, we were feeling for a kick or something, sure that we felt something each time. Garnet was the happiest I had ever seen her in two years and I certainly wasn't sad. And, then, the falseness lifted from me a bit and I didn't feel so caged in. eight months went by and then suddenly, at about 5 in the morning, Garnet woke me up by digging her nails into my back so hard. I turned round to look at her and she was completely white.

'I cant feel the baby anymore Zid...I CANT FEEL IT!' she started crying hysterically, for at that moment, we knew we wouldn't get our baby back.. The ambulance came and took us to hospital, but as we already knew, it was too late.

Garnet had to give birth to it still though, and that she did. I walked in afterwards to find her crying silently, over a blue, still baby. It had been a girl and she was a miniature version of her mother, but with golden-blonde hair, like my own.

We named her Zara and had a full funeral for her; she's buried next to her grandmother. She died from the umbical cord looping round her throat and strangling her in her sleep.

The next months that went by, they were sad and unforgiving. I don't remember doing much except lying on our bed, holding Garnet in my arms, stroking her hair while she cried. I finally remember getting up and looking outside, at the world around us, on a summers day, and I saw all we had worked at. I called Garnet over to the window and together we looked down at the birds singing on top of roofs and children skipping in the street, people selling fish, fruit and flowers to passers by and the Alexandrian soldiers, all marching round, lining up and saluting up at us.

I remember Garnet smiling then, looking up at me and saying 'we'll get through this wont we?' and me nodding with my eyes fixed on hers.

Holding Garnet's hand all the way, we managed to get on with our lives, together as possible, never more than a hand's reach away from each other, and eventually, we were able to run the kingdom again. I noticed every change in her feelings, felt them as if they were mine and acted upon them immediately. Our relationship was stronger than ever...


	2. A Ball In Motion

Immediately after I had read through the note she left, I sent out a search party. It's my duty to protect the princess, and this time she did not even have a group of thieves handy to make her own little guarding system. I was scared that she would not be ok, that she would be killed within a minute because of all the monsters in the (although its nearly all gone) mist. I ignored her part in the letter saying that we were not to send out a search party for her. She should not have run off!

Zidane had tried so hard for her. He made sure she got through everything, made sure she did not burst out crying at the mere mention of children. But he had always tried hard for her, giving up his own lifestyle to life as a prince, there was just a slight change in the way he lived there. But he tried so hard to look like he enjoyed himself at all those parties that the government just set up to get rid of some spare cash they have taken in taxes.

When she was getting better, Zidane was next to her, yet, in the background. Like her support but not right net to her, she had to turn round to collapse on him. Each day, he moved a little further away, both physically and emotionally, so Garnet had to stand on her own again. I don't know how he managed to put his pain to the side to help Garnet over hers. But it was a very noble thing to do.

Eventually Zidane began to go away on business trips and things again. He wasn't out a lot at first, but then, gradually, each day he would be out for another hour, until he would be worked full days away from Garnet. But he explained every Detail of what he did to Garnet the next day, Making sure she understood why he had to go away for all these things. But she knew that if she even hinted that she didn't want him to go away, he wouldn't. He was so loyal and tried so hard with her, maybe that's what hurt her the most.

No one knows why she left, except the select few who have read the letter, the select few that have been with each other through all this time and have fought battles to save the world.. Us seven (and our partners, whom all of us seven trust with the information too) are the only people to know about this tragedy.

When I found the letter, it was split up into sections for each of us. My section was simple and to the point

_Treat Zidane as the king. Do not come after me for I will not want to return._

Zidane's part was only a bit bigger, scanning over it as I did. But it was the words she used against him that made it a bigger significance than any of the others. The person she described didn't sound like the Zidane we knew, and we KNEW Zidane...

I don't know what I would have done if I had been there, for I don't sleep easily in the nights, haven't for a long time and I would have heard her leaving. Would have stopped her before she made the biggest mistake of her life. But I, like Zidane, never thought she would leave. I just wish she was back here, wish she would contact me and tell me what is wrong.

I was in Lindblum, Being the little princess of Cid and Hilda like I wanted to. Wondering the streets, talking to the resident moogles. Being me and then there was a phone call from Zidane himself. I knew something had happened because Zidane never calls me. Dagger, Steiner or Beatrix do. And even then they only talk to me for about five minutes before being asked to be put onto Cid. So when the maid called me and said that Zidane Tribul was calling from Alexandria for me, I knew something was up. I put him through with the brilliant little phone in my room that I love and even before he started to talk, I could tell he was trying to keep his voice steady. His breaths were ragged and then he talked, and my heart broke to hear his voice so cracked up and struggling to make words form.

'Eiko?' he nearly whispered and I held back tears.

'Yes Zidane?' I asked and put my other arm round my legs to comfort myself.

'She's gone.' And I realised why his voice was breaking like the ground in an earthquake. 'She's gone and she's not coming back..' Zidane tried to keep his composure and I could hear him gritting his teeth. 'Just thought you would want...want to know.' I dug my nails into a pillow and closed my eyes.

'Thank you Zidane. I will arrange a ship to bring me there as soon as possible.' Zidane sighed

'You sure you're alright on your own coming here? You don't need me to come and get you?' I clenched my hand into a fist in annoyance.

'I'm not a child Zidane.' Zidane laughed a tiny laugh, not even a shadow on his usual laugh

'No, no you're not...' Zidane sighed deeply and I could tell he was lost in thought.

'See ya soon Zidane.' I said and Zidane replied with 'See ya.' Then I put down the phone, picked it up again and called a ship taxi service. Then I went and told my 'mum' and 'dad' that I was going to Alexandria for a day or two.

When I got to Alexandria, I was informed that Zidane was in the royal chamber, tending to the kingdom just like nothing had happened. I couldn't understand why he wasn't letting up and letting the kingdom be run by supervisors for a bit. When he came out, he barely smiled at me with his eyes or his mouth and led me into another room, it was a bedroom and on the desk was a letter.

'Read it.' So I began to read it out load and Zidane dug his fingers into my arm. 'In your head stupid!' he snapped and walked out the door. Steiner came in instead and showed me my room and everything. He said to ignore Zidane for he was just stressed. I asked Steiner why Zidane was still working and Steiner looked away with a pained look on his face. I got all tetchy because I thought it was that he thought I was just a little kid and wouldn't understand

'I'm not a little kid ya know!' I shouted at him and Steiner looked straight back at me.

'I know you are not. It's not that.' Steiner moved a bit, making his armour clank alot. 'Zidane, like many others, think that if he keeps working, he wont have to think about it..' I looked up at him

'But it doesn't work like that!' I shouted at him and tried to run past him to Zidane but he caught me and held me back 'LET ME GO! I NEED TO TALK TO ZIDANE!' I screamed but Steiner just held on tighter.

'I think you had better go home Eiko. You won't be any help here.' Steiner said calmly and I looked at him. He walked over to the phone in the room and started to dial numbers

'But I want to help...' I said, disappointed.

'Then go home Eiko. Help us there.' Steiner put the phone down and came back over to me 'Garnet may contact Cid, He is her uncle after all, and we need you to be there to talk to her when she does.' Steiner put a hand on my shoulder. 'Now go, you have read the letter?' I nodded, numb. 'Then go, I have arranged the cab for you.' I smiled at him and hugged him, something I never thought I would do, and walked to where the ship was waiting to take me back to Lindblum...


	3. Stealing An Airship

I worked non-stop on our kingdom for a whole year. I became anti-social, hidden in the royal hall, sleeping there, working there, looking out over her kingdom each day. It became my home and my sanctuary. The royal bedroom was too full of memories of waking and finding her gone, too full of memories of her in those last days.

So I never went there, I stayed in the hall, doing the work of two people, trying to cover up the fact that she left me. I became anti-social because all anyone ever seemed to talk about was her and I couldn't bare knowing that she was out there dead or alive and I wasn't even going after her.

I desperately wanted to go after her, find her, be with her. But then, who would run this kingdom? I suppose I used that excuse actually, Steiner was always there and he knew how to run the kingdom better than me, but the truth was that I didn't want to find her because I was scared of her reaction to me. She ran away from me and she didn't want me. What would be the point of finding her?

The hall became my home and my chair my bed. Many a time would I be woken up by a maid gently nudging me with a cup of coffee smiling down on me and asking if I had a nice sleep? I would make small talk, casually smiling at them and listening intently to what they say. As if they were the only person in the world. And eventually, they would leave me to it, to work another day away.

Yet no one could get through my outer shell. The way I displayed myself to the world. No one could however much they tried. The only person who had heard me displaying my emotions was Eiko and that was only because when I talked to her, she sounded so innocent, and it reminded me of Garnet, the young princess. I wouldn't let her in the hall though, she came over each weekend, talked through the gaps in the doors, but I wouldn't let her in, because she was the one I knew I would let my shell down for and I needed it up, needed protection from the world.

She was the one who gave me hope though, she was the only one who dared to speak about Garnet in a horrible way in front (well, in between cracks in the doors) to me. She would tell me the things that no one dared say to me, say to me the things that she had always thought about Garnet. I suppose she wanted to be let in to see me. But I wouldn't let her in. Even when she cracked and pleaded to see me, when she sat there in silence, listening to me pace around the room. The worst time where when she would sit there and I knew she was silently crying, crying for me, but she wouldn't cry loudly. That, as she told me, was for little children, and Eiko, was not a little child.

At the end of the year, I couldn't take it anymore...

Steiner put on his armour of the first day in the first year and looked down at his newly-polished Sword. smiling, remembering, he picked it up and flicked it in the way he used to when he had defeated an enemy.

'Reminding yourself of the old times?' Beatrix's beautiful, silky voice came from behind him as her arms slid round his armoured chest. 'Yes, they were the days.' She said as she leant her head on Steiner's broad shoulder.

Steiner smiled at her, still beautiful after all these years. He bent down and kissed her softy then unattached her arms from him while kissing her forehead.

'I have got to go report to Zid...The king.' Steiner said and smiled. Beatrix's forehead creased.

'Why do you not call him Zidane?' she asked, confused at his words.

'For he is not Zidane, Not the Zidane I know...knew.' Steiner replied and walked, as casually as he could, out the door.

He walked down the hallway and round the corner where he nearly knocked one of his faithful knights, Kohel, down to the floor. Kohel jumped back at the last moment and saluted. Then bent over panting.

'Sir, we...we...we found the...royal...' Kohel pants 'Hall... empty. Milord is not there.' Kohel stood up again, with new found breath. 'One of the ships has been taken too, one of the new ones that have no tracker devices in them and are very fast. Sir, the guards in the air base say that the king was there only an hour ago and told them to go off guard for the night. Then they say that they heard an airship start up and fly off, and they were too far away to run back and catch him before it was too late.' Kohel scratched his leg. 'Also, Sir. Eiko Carol from Lindblum castle is appeared missing too.' Steiner creased his forehead trying to take it all in and nodded to the knight.

'Well? What are you waiting for? Go search for any clues to where they might have gone!' he shouted at Kohel suddenly and thundered back to his room to tell Beatrix the news. When Beatrix heard, she didn't even suppress her smile.

'Finally! I was wondering when he would go after her!' Steiner stared open mouthed at her. 'Oh come on! You thought Zidane would sit back here the rest of his life and never go after her?' Steiner shook his head.

'No...But what about the kingdom?' he asked gob smacked at his partner's easiness of the dilemma.

'How long have we been in service?' Beatrix asked Steiner 'Too many years to count, that's how long!' Beatrix carried on 'I think we know how to run this place.' She smiled at Steiner as he scratched his head.

'Do you think we should send a search party out for them?' he asked and Beatrix laughed.

'Not yet, give it a while, maybe even a year, and then we will go out after them.'


	4. Praying In A Ruined Village

She cradled her legs in her arms and put her hair down so her shoulder-length hair brushed against her cheeks and hid her face. She remembered the time she had been in Alexandria Castle, and she cried again for the people...person there. But she wasn't a kid, and crying, she told herself, was for babies. Looking out over the cave she was sitting in, she saw the sunset and wondered if he was looking at it too. And then she remembered all the other things she left behind and she came away from the cave opening and into the darkness, finding the things she had now.

But the memories kept haunting her...

I left the note, my head full of memories I did not want and words I could never say. I looked at Steiner sleeping peacefully next to Beatrix and suppressed a whimper. Why couldn't we still be like that? But alas, I thought I could change him... I thought he had changed. Shows how much I knew. I didn't want to hurt him, however much he wanted to hurt me, so I gave him the one thing I see he wanted most. Power.

I should start at the wedding really, the day where I supposed to be happy. I was, in a lifted kind of way. The whole thing had been such an effort for me. Zidane, as always, didn't do anything to help, just said maybe be should postpone it for a bit? Postpone the wedding of the century? I couldn't, so regardless to how much I had to do on my own, I did it all.

However, Zidane did seem to perk up in the reception after I had talked to him for a bit. He was enjoying himself so much, I didn't want to tell him about all the hard work being ruined by people taking flowers to give to others, about the kids of the guests running amuck in the garden. I watched those kids for a bit actually, how I would have loved to have a kid of my own.

After the wedding, we settled down to sort out the kingdom so we could both run it. Zidane was very enthusiastic and happy and pointed out things that scared me but I didn't want to let him know that, so I smiled at him. Smiled and smiled and smiled.

Soon Zidane was getting jobs that meant he had to go and do other things, away from me. And I saw him less and less, until we would wake up in the mornings, put on our clothes, both go out the door at the same time and turn in completely different directions. At first I missed him, then I was a little subdued and finally I was angry at him, just going when I needed him to run the kingdom with me.

I began to get depressed.

Then the subject of children came up, and I didn't want one, but how could I tell Zidane that? And anyway, I had seen another side to him now. He used to be a thief, and a thief steals gold, which is a kind of power. Zidane was a thief; he stole my kingdom, a supreme power. Having a baby would only make him more secure in getting his filthy hands on the rest.

Needless to say, I got pregnant, and suddenly, a child seemed like a new opportunity for me. A built a bond with it, like mothers do; I lay there smiling to myself and thinking of how beautiful it would be. Zidane and me would feel for kicks, though I was sure Zidane was just doing that to feel his new power fighting.

I woke up that night, and I couldn't feel the bond, and I knew that that was it, the baby was dead. I don't remember waking Zidane, but I was shocked, I just remember him being there. That was the thing about Zidane; he was always there but never completely. He was always busy doing something else but would still be there.

Zara Looked like a little me, with Zidane's blond hair. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Neither me nor Zidane fell asleep that night, we just looked at her throughout and I cried because she was gone and my hope died then, I knew I had lost and Zidane was the supreme being and I handed over the kingdom to him

Zidane was by my side, he helped me with my work, but he was always calling up people. Telling them they needed to do this or that. And then he started to go away again, until it was ten times worse than what it had been originally. I thought I could live with it...

Running away without a theatre ship there was hard. I got up at dawn, got dressed in the most practical clothing I had for running away in. They weren't my clothes; Zidane's thief clothes were surprisingly comfy. I didn't want to take a reminder of him with me, but it didn't seem like I had any choice. Then I took out the letter I had been writing for days and crept into Steiner's room, left the note, climbed out the window onto the balcony and summoned Ifrit to take me away. Which he did once I had given him a few treats.

It was hard because of all the guards. There are ten scattered around the hall outside my door, I got past them with a sleep spell on each of them. Then there were the knights that were wandering around, they were paralyzed. And the last bunch, the ones that saw me, were silenced, stopped or petrified.

It was easy to see I was running away, I wasn't wearing a flowing nightdress, dinner dress or anything formal and on my back was my staff, a backpack with a tent, potions, ethers, a few elixirs and remedies in it. It wasn't so easy to tell someone I was running away if you saw me though.

Zidane parked the ship down on some grass on the lost continent. Getting out, he saw that the sun was setting. He had been travelling all day. He wondered if Steiner had sent out a search party for him yet, but what could they do? He was the king and they had to follow his orders, and they would be to turn around and go away.

Pulling it gently, Zidane dislodged Ultima Weapon from its bindings and carried it down into the grass with him. It was times like this that he wished there was still some mist around and monsters left, right and centre. Sighing, he swung the mega-weapon round his head a few times and brought it down in the soil. A sand lizard started to scamper away but Zidane swung round and pushed his weapon through its tiny body with one move. A flock of birds, hearing the lizard's final squeak, cried out themselves and started to fly across the water. Zidane stood next to his weapon and watched as they flew so gracefully over the water and remembered her again.

They had been lying on the grass, a few days before their marriage, Garnet in Zidane's arms as she pointed to birds and clouds laughing while Zidane played with her hair gently. A whole flock of birds had flown overhead and Garnet had sighed deeply.

'I wish I could fly away whenever I wanted...' she had muttered and Zidane had looked at her concerned. 'Not from you, just...oh never mind. It's just that I wish I could fly without any airship or anything.' Garnet had smiled at Zidane and Zidane had ignored the remark, but now, it seems, that she meant it. But she had wanted to get away from him as well...

Zidane went into the engine room. There he sat down next to the engine's purring body and closed his eyes. The engine was very hot and condensations stuck to its sides. Zidane wiped away some of the condensation, which was also hot water, with his hair and drew in another patch with his finger. He was just doodling but he noticed the thing he drew when he finished. Garnet looked back at him with her short hair and wonderful brown eyes.

She had cut her hair the night Zidane had come back. She had taken Zidane's dagger again and run to the balcony, while Steiner ran after her, thinking she was about to kill herself, Freya, Vivi, Eiko and Amarant standing there watching horrified, Quina looking at the beautiful array of food on the table and Zidane standing next to Garnet as she looked into his eyes, lifted up her hair like she had done before and slid the dagger through her hair again. Then she hugged Zidane tightly and looked out above Alexandria, throwing her hair over the whole city and watching it float away.

Eiko ate on her table in Madain Sari and smiled to herself. She had seen Zidane land on the Lost Continent and tomorrow she would board his ship and search for Garnet with him. But today, she had to talk to her moogles and pray to the Eidolons for she hadn't used them for so long that she needed to get them on her side again.

Garnet had summoned all of hers at least once every day to circle Alexandria for a bit of exercise and to scorch any nearby monsters in the grasses if they wanted. It had become a daily spectator's sport to see who could see which Eidolon first. People would stop what they would be doing and watch as Shiva came down and bowed to a small girl who would bow back and smile up at her, to watch as Ifrit pick a boy who was walking along aimlessly and give him a ride, but the one who got the most cheering, (apart from Alexander who was cheered for protecting Alexandria) was Bahamut. Bahamut would swoop in and out of alleyways, roar at dogs and chase cats around the square and breath fire into the air while doing back flips and messing about in the air.

Eiko walked to the eidolon wall and looked silently at the girl wearing Zidane's clothes prayed to the wall silently with her head bowed and her eyes closed. She had hair that was unevenly cut from being sliced off by a dagger and mud was on her fingernails, dried in her hair and slipping down one side of her face. Eiko was too shocked to even walk one step, she leant against the wall and watched as the girl finished her prayers, got up and turned round, her eyes suddenly on Eiko who was standing in the door.

'Dagger?' Eiko managed to cry and walked a step forwards.

'Don't come any closer.' Dagger whispered fiercely and shot a stop spell at Eiko's feet, who dodged it and fired a spell she had learned long ago, one that clogged up people's magic for a bit. It hit Dagger right in the chest, and Dagger, knowing what spell it was, collapsed onto the floor crying. 'Don't make me go back, I won't go back.' Eiko went and sat ext to her, rubbing her back, Eiko looked forwards and not at Dagger.

'I'm not going to make you go back. You wouldn't have left Alexandria without a bloody good reason to.' Eiko never swore unless she meant it and this time, she meant it with all her heart. Dagger looked up at her and wondered how this kid was so mature for her age, and then she remembered what this girl had had to go through.

'Did you do as I said?' Dagger had to ask, and Eiko bit on her bottom lip hard, and nodded her head. Her face had gone white and she suddenly stopped rubbing Dagger's back. 'Eiko, I'm so sorry, but you had to do it.' Eiko nodded again and closed her eyes. She forced herself not to cry as she relived that moment. The moment where she read her part of the letter. No one else had read it because they knew Eiko liked privacy of her things. She had never told anyone about it either, her bit had been at the bottom of the page, maybe for this reason, so she ripped it off and put it in her pocket.

Taking the piece of paper out now she looked at it again, the folds so used that they were falling apart and the letters so smudged from obvious tear marks. Dagger and Eiko sat there in silence as they each read Dagger's smudged hand-writing again and remembered different things about those words. There had already been tear marks on the paper when Eiko had taken it, from Dagger as she had been writing it. Dagger remembered writing it and watching as tears fell on the paper, hoping Eiko wouldn't mind. Eiko remembered reading it over and over and finally, acting upon it.

Eiko had had to take Dagger's necklace from Alexandria. Dagger had wanted no trace of her left at the castle, and, although it was 'Alexandria's stone', everyone had always, and would always, remember it best as the thing Dagger took from the castle when she ran away. She didn't want people to remember that time, for it made her think of it too and that lead her to thinking of _him_. Eiko had taken it and hidden it, the whole world was looking for it, to try to get it back. Only a few, select moogles knew where it was…

For the rest of the time, they sat there and Eiko told of her acting upon the words, doing the best she could as Dagger thanked her over and over for doing it. As the conversation was dying down, Dagger suddenly got up and started to walked away. At the opening to the Eidolon wall, she turned round.

'Eiko, please don't tell Zidane where I am. I don't want him to find me.' And with that, she was gone. She waved as she was about to go out of site and then walked off, out of Madain Sari and away to another place.

Eiko sat there for a while and watched the same space where Dagger had been only a few minutes ago, then, as if coming out of a trance, Eiko turned round and prayed...


	5. BarGirl

'Sir, Regent Cid is on the line.' One of the Knights of Pluto announced to his captain.

Stiener took the call and his face went very grey after he had said 'What is the matter?' then he put the phone down.

'What is it?' Beatrix asked as he turned round.

'They have found out that Eiko is on her own, Zidane isn't with her. They found this out by a moogle in Lindblum castle, Mogki, he got a letter from one in Madain Sari saying that Eiko had been back for a visit. That was the only bit the moogle would say as the knights couldn't read Moogle-writing and were relying on the moogle being honest. It said there was only Eiko and not Zidane.' Beatrix gasped and closed her eyes.

'Is she alright?' She asked quietly and Steiner nodded. It hurt him too for Eiko was like Dagger's little sister, and now it seemed like she would be killed too. But he couldn't say that, he had to be strong for Beatrix at least.

'Don't worry; she's not a little kid.' Steiner said and put his arms round Beatrix, comforting her the best he could.

Eiko had always been in awe of Garnet's long hair, and even after Garnet cut hers, Eiko kept growing hers. Now, it was like they had swapped hair for Garnet's was short while Eiko's was long, all the way down to her waist and still growing.

'Do you think we should go after them yet?' Steiner asked that night and Beatrix smiled sadly.

'No, they need to do this.' She answered and closed the subject by walking out the door. She missed the couple all the time, but she never got attached to them like Steiner did, but there again, she never travelled round with them and saved the world with them. She needed to hold him back though. They needed to sort this out on their own, and Steiner wouldn't help at all.

She crouched down in the room she was in and closed her eyes. Above her was a family banging about and below her was a person who sounded like he had finally got lucky. She looked around the room again and sighed. It would have to do for now. A small bed, a greasy floored kitchen with a cooker with burnt bits of many dinners on it and a clogged up loo. This was what she had been reduced to.

She remembered the day when Zidane and her had had to go to a ball in Lindblum and how most of the guest rooms in the castle had been taken so they had to go to the inn and it felt like the old times. When they were travelling round the world.

Those where the days, the whole group together. Now, they were all over the place.

She looked around again, hoping that he would be here soon.

Garnet sighed and got up, closing the door on her room, she went outside and into the nearest shop.

Zidane lay down on his hotel room floor, too lazy to get to the bed. Blinking a couple of times, he tried to get rid of the image of the sign-in book from this hotel, but there it was again.

She had been here; she had been here a week ago today. There had been her handwriting, but she hadn't signed a name, she had just put _a small sword_ in curly writing so it looked like a name. It had been nearly illegible.

The bloke had said that he didn't remember her, she was just another face in the many that came here. Zidane sighed and took out the polish he had brought to sharpen up his weapon up. He was about to start polishing when the landlord knocked on the door and shouted through the door that he had a call. Zidane put the weapon on the ground and the cloth on top of it and went to answer the call.

When he came back, the cloth wasn't on top of the weapon anymore, but next to it. Zidane stopped and wondered why that was; for he had sworn he had put it on his weapon so he didn't get any on the carpet.

Shrugging, he went back to his weapon and polished it up.

Eiko went home, she had to. She had found her and told her, and she had nothing else to do about it.

When she got home, she was punished. Punished for running away. She went to her room and cried on her bed for ages, but no one came to comfort her.

That was when she remembered the time when she was sick. It had been just after Zidane was going off and leaving Garnet behind. Just after the baby dying. Zidane had come to look after her. Any of the maids could have done it, her mum and dad could have done it, But Zidane came from Alexandria and looked after her. Making sure she was comfy, sitting with her and talking to her like she was an adult, comforting her.

That was the first time Zidane had cried in front of Eiko. He had seen her pale and thin and had remembered the baby. He couldn't talk for an hour at least for he was sobbing so much, and then he regained control of himself and looked after her again, and that was the first time he showed that he wasn't super-human, and that he could and did, cry. Eiko never asked about it, and Zidane, though he tried at the time, never explained, they both knew.

When she got better, Zidane went again and she was left on her own again. But she never forgot how much he put himself out for her. 'That's what friends do.' He had said when she thanked him and Eiko had laughed. But now, he was the one who needed comforting, and she was stuck at 'home'. She couldn't believe she hadn't helped him...

They wouldn't find her here. She knew he was finally after her, but he wouldn't find her. She had hid herself well, he wouldn't look here. No one would. Ruby would hide her, she had said she would. Ruby had never forgiven Zidane and the others for leaving her behind and it helped that she was looking for someone to help look after the theatre. Ruby's theatre business had expanded so much that she now based herself in Lindblum and flew out over the world to look after the other theatres. She even owned ten flying theatres.

She wasn't on the airships though. She was on the ground, working as a waitress in one of the many theatres in Lindblum. It wasn't a very good job, but it was that or scrubbing the floor and that was even worse to her. She put on her apron and went over to the new customer that was sitting there. Her heart leapt and a smile came over her face as she saw who sat there.

'Hello.' She drawled and he looked up at her, and mimicked the smile she had. He put his hand up to her face and smoothed a stray hair back behind her ear. 'Where have you been?' she looked quickly over at Ruby, who was looking back at her, and bent down to kiss the guy on the mouth.

'When does your shift end?' the guy didn't answer her question. She shrugged and smiled at him.

'Hour or so…'she said vaguely. The guy nodded

'I'll stay here then. What's showing tonight?' he asked, and then, with a glint in his eye, added 'You doing another strip?' She laughed and kissed him again

'Maybe a private one, for you, later…' she said and looked at her writing pad, 'what can I get you then?' she asked.

'Usual, pay for it for me cant you, doll?' he asked and she looked at him over her pad and nodded sullenly, then she went back to the bar and put the order on the table.

'Who's that then? Its not…' Ruby asked as she looked over Garnet's shoulder at the light-blue haired, so light it looked grey, man sitting at the table. Garnet had a big smile on her face. She looked directly in Ruby's eyes and, with a small laugh in her throat, she stated

'No, it's Kuja,'


	6. Realisations

Zidane rested in the Lindblum castle guestroom. He didn't know where else to go to look for Garnet. He had looked everywhere down to every cave, every crevice and she wasn't anywhere. The only two places she could be, the two places he hadn't checked yet, were Lindblum and Alexandria. Today, he was having a break and meeting up with Ruby to talk to her. Stretching, Zidane looked out the window at the clock tower down in the next district. The Tantalus hideout had been killed many years ago, and now it was Ruby's main work place, the biggest theatre she owned for she had brought the rest of the clock tower (but she still let the clock run as it had) so expanded it throughout the whole building. Zidane got dressed into a ripped T-shirt and a baggy pair of crumpled cotton trousers. Then he walked out of the room and onto the air station to take him to the Theatre District.

Ruby phoned her up early today, telling her that she could have a whole day with Kuja for she was not needed to come in today. She thanked her and walked back to him, who put his arm around her and cuddled up against her. They both looked over the other side of the room, hearing the gurgles coming from over there, Kuja got up and pulled Garnet up, holding her to him, he went over to the other side of the room.

'Who's beautiful?' he said out load and a gurgle came as if a reply, Garnet leant down and picked the gurgling object up, 'yes, you are.' Kuja whispered and put his arms round Garnet's waist. 'Our Daughter, Mikoto.' Garnet smiled and looked into the little girl's eyes. Remembering that day.

Zidane looked at the sign on the wall next to the door, advertising a play for the next day.

_Before I had to change. A story of one man and LOADS_ _of girls._

'That looks ok' he thought and entered the building. Ruby looked up at the door as he walked in and smiled.

'Well, howdy partner!' she said and walked, in the quick way that she did, over. Zidane laughed, knowing that she was only doing the accent for old times sake. She didn't talk like that anymore, gave it up after one of her boyfriends said it made her sound dumb. 'How's you doing then duck?' she asked and Zidane shrugged. 'Follow me.' She said and walked up the stairway next to the door to her own, private rooms. 'How are you getting on…' she said, and then lowered her voice, even though there was no one else in the room '…with finding her?' Zidane looked at Ruby in the eyes for a mini-second; his own eyes showing extreme grief, and then looked round the room.

'She has to be in Lindblum. She ain't no where else.' Zidane said as he picked up a gruesome statue of a leopard from a shelf. 'So, how's the business? Filled in that space for a waitress yet?' he asked and Ruby nodded as she poured out some coffee into two mugs.

'You wouldn't have seen her down there. She's got the day off today.' Ruby said as she handed Zidane some coffee and sat down in a hideous leopard-print seat, while Zidane sunk into a tiger-print sofa…

Eiko cried on her pillow in the castle of Alexandria. Regent Cid had needed to come here and Eiko had wanted to see Steiner and Beatrix. Instead of wanting to talk to her, they had sent her away, telling her that she would be getting in the way if she stayed.

A gloved hand fell on her shoulder and she turned to look into the same golden eyes that had been with her the day she had saved the world. She hadn't seen them for so long, she had expected them to have faded because his life had worn out. But there they were, vibrant as ever. The thirteen-year-old no longer dressed in mismatched items of clothing. Now, being one of the only black mages left, he dressed in a full black cloak with a pointed hat tipped over one of his eyes in a style reminiscent of how Amarant would have worn a hat.

'I know, they think we'll get in the way.' He said, his voice had broken and it was deep, it suited him very well.

'Vivi!' Eiko shouted and hugged him hard. Vivi was quite taken aback. Not knowing what to do with this show of emotion raised his arms from his sides, where Eiko had pinned them, and tried to put them round her too, like he had seen Zidane do to Garnet a lot of times. Eiko stepped back again and looked over the black mage. He looked even more of a loner now, but that was the idea. Black for black mage and to merge into the background, for humans were still wary of black mages, so he shouldn't draw attention to himself, he had reasoned.

'Eiko! You've grown so much! You must be…' Vivi held up his hands, as if to count on them '…11 now, yes?' Eiko smirked and nodded. Vivi smiled back. 'And your hair!' he said, his voice almost cracking he was so happy, as she twirled round. Suddenly, Vivi realised how much he was drawing attention to himself from the knights around and looked out the window, shutting up. The rain was falling heavily and the wind was howling. He looked back at Eiko 'Want to go for a walk?' he asked…

Zidane sat down at a table watching the rest of the crowd surge in. He thought back to yesterday and the talk he had had with Ruby, she didn't mention Garnet much, which was a blessing, but she didn't say anything about the new waitress either. Usually she would be slagging the poor girl off or praising her so much that Zidane wouldn't be able to talk about what's on his mind. But that day, she hadn't said anything more than she had got a new waitress.

Zidane looked out for this waitress, and saw her. Short light-brown hair, scruffy uniform that had been a hand-me down from the girl who left. She was serving a table a few chairs away and Zidane could see one of her eyes, a light blue, like they were contacts. Probably were, he thought as he watched the crowd come in again, but slowly, his face turned to look at her again, there was something so familiar about her. Then she suddenly turned fully round, and looked straight at Zidane, and he felt something in his mind click into place…


	7. Black Mage Village

Garnet turned round quickly, cursing her stupid-ness. The people she was serving had said that a man was looking at her, and, thinking it was Kuja, she had turned round and looked him straight in the eyes. His eyes were the same as Kuja, but then a blonde hair flicked across in front of them, and Garnet realised who it was. She took the people she was serving's order, nearly ran back to the bar, placed down the order and grabbed Ruby.

'What's _he_ doing here?' she screeched at her and gestured to the blond guy sitting, being served by a bar maid. Ruby looked and put her hands to her mouth.

'Oh my God! I don't know! Quick, go up to my room and through the window, onto the emergency stairs and out. Go home!' she called after Garnet as she was running up the stairs. Garnet turned her head round and nodded, mouthing 'thank you' as she climbed the last step.

Zidane asked his waiter who the newest waiter was, and the waitress was more than happy to tell him.

'She's a right one. She does her work and all, but her accent is cut-glass and its like she's hiding from someone.' She said one time. At the end of the play, Zidane went and found Ruby, in the same room they had in talked earlier.

'Your new waitress. What's her name?' he asked as he closed the door behind them.

'Da…ra.' Ruby said, changing it before she said Dagger. Zidane nodded slowly, leaning on the closed door,

'Where does she live?' He asked and Ruby stopped checking over her statues.

'Why do you want to know?' she asks, thinking fast.

'Where does she live?' Zidane asked again and clenches his fists.

'That is private information…' Ruby started but Zidane grabbed her with one hand and slammed her against the wall. When Ruby dared to open her eyes, he was standing in front of her, a fierce look on his face, holding his dagger above his head.

'Tell me!' he said through gritted teeth and Ruby remembered all the times they had stolen treasure and been caught, Zidane hadn't even thoughts twice of diving his dagger into the person's arm.

'2…21, Machine way, Industrial District.' She squeaked out and Zidane let her go. Still holding the dagger in his hand he looked down at the floor.

'Sure?' he asked.

'Positive. Would I lie to you?' she didn't mean to say the last bit. It just slipped out. Zidane smiled wearily. 'Look, Zidane. What if…when you find Dagger…She doesn't want to come back to the Castle? To you? What if she's moved on?' Ruby said and Zidane looked away.

'She will.' Is all he said and then he walked out the door, went to the air station and got on a train to the industrial district.

Ruby was too shocked to even pick up the phone, never mind warn Dagger about Zidane. Zidane was hanging everything he had up on Dagger. He was going to fall so badly…

Eiko and Vivi sat on the steps to the boat that took them into the town. Watching the water ripple as the raindrops hit it. They hadn't talked much, but suddenly Vivi sat up and turned to Eiko. The 'adults' were too busy to worry about this tiny matter, but Vivi had such a bad feeling about it. He needed to check some things out.

'Eiko, did you open up the Iifa tree again?' Eiko's head shot up.

'No…why would I do a thing like that?' she asked and Vivi suddenly got up.

'Someone has!' he said and looked around, as if expecting the acclaimed was standing behind them. Eiko bit her lip.

'There's nothing we can do at the moment.' She said, trailing her foot in the water. 'I'll check it out when I get back to Lindblum but for now…' Vivi focused on her horn and nodded meekly. He sat down next to Eiko again and looked in the water. It was getting dark and people behind them were lighting lamps with fire. Vivi watched the reflection of the fire in the water and closed his eyes in sorrow.

'What…did happen that night.' Eiko asked in a whisper, sensing Vivi's sadness and wanting to try to help with it, and the first part of helping is understanding what you are dealing with. Vivi didn't look at her; he looked up at the stars. She was just beginning to think he wasn't going to tell her when he started talking.

'We had all been laughing and stuff that night, all of us, the genomes and the black mages together, feeling like a proper family. A few black mages went out to get more firewood for the huge fire we were doing, leaving the barrier down for five minutes. It only took those few five minutes. We heard screams from them and a few black mages, me included, went to go look for them… Then we saw the humans. They were huddled round one of the black mages, poking it with a pitchfork.' Vivi closed his eyes again and a tear fell into the water. 'They turned round and saw us, and went for us too. I was still small then, so I got away under the others' legs and back to the village, but I was too late, the humans had got past the black mages and were already in the village. They saw the genomes with us and killed them too!' Vivi picked up a stone and threw it with all his might into the middle of the lake. 'I watched them as they cornered Mikoto, Eiko…' Vivi faded off as he saw the humans surrounding Mikoto in the Black mage graveyard and stabbing her in the chest with a spade. He saw the spade come out the other side of her, heard the cracks as it broke many of her ribs and her backbone. He couldn't shake the image from his head. No child should have seen that, heard that. 'I only escaped because I ran away.' Vivi said, trying to carry on talking, telling, but he saw the humans flame the buildings in black mage village, saw then high-five each other, and knew that there was nothing he could do to stop them.

Eiko put her arm round the lone survivor of Black mage village and he leaned his head on her shoulder and cried. She didn't say that crying was for babies, she didn't push him off, she looked up at the sky and let the tears fall too, for all the genomes and Black mages that were killed for no reason.


	8. Pushed Away

Zidane knocked on the door and rubbed his eyes. This was it, this was when he would either find his princess or find a total stranger looking back at him. He hadn't thought about anything on the way over apart from her. His mind swamped in memories of her. Now it was time to see if those dreams, those memories would be true. The door was opened by the waitress, who stood there shocked to see who was standing outside her house. Zidane looked at her up and down. She wasn't wearing anything apart from a bed robe, and it was open up one side of her long, slender leg. Zidane ran his hand through his hair and looked up at her face. She no longer had her contacts in, and there were the hazel-brown eyes looking straight back at her. Her mouth was hanging slightly open and her eyebrows were raised in shock.

'Garnet…?' Zidane managed to say and Garnet seemed to come out paralysis caused by the shock of seeing Zidane standing at her door. She was about to slam the door when Kuja came up behind her and kissed her neck,

'What's up doll?' he said, not noticing Zidane yet. Zidane stood there in complete shock as Garnet turned and kissed Kuja full on. He took in them together, Kuja, standing there in boxer shorts. Tanned skin, grey-ish hair falling slightly onto Garnet's perfect cheek, his arms wrapped round Garnet's small waist. Garnet turned into him, her hair falling behind her as she leaned upwards towards him, more of her slender leg showing as her robe slipped in her grasp. Zidane clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, when they finished kissing, Kuja turned to see who was at the door, and smiled at Zidane. 'Oh, hello _brother._ Come for a cup of tea?' he asked and smiled at Garnet who giggled. Zidane gritted his teeth more. There was a gurgle from behind and Kuja smiled even more. An evil, 'I've won' smile. 'Oh, at least see OUR beautiful baby, Mikoto. After your dear sister, a tribute to her.' He said and held up a small baby, smiling at Zidane as her father rocked her back and forth in his arms. 'Well, if you're not going to come in, you'd better _go,_ hadn't you.' Kuja said again and Zidane looked at Garnet, who was looking away, examining the door post. Kuja started to close the door but Zidane pushed it open again.

'I want to talk to Garnet…' Zidane stated through gritted teeth. '…alone.' He added when Kuja was still standing there. Kuja looked at Garnet, who nodded at him to go, and walked off into the house again…

Zidane was standing there. Zidane! She rewound to when she had first opened the door and he had been standing there. She remembered the flipping her stomach did, and she had thought how cute he had looked for a split second as he stood there.

Then she had remembered Kuja and realised that she was glad she had left this pathetic shadow of Kuja. She kept telling herself that.

And now he was standing there, kicking the dirt. He looked up at her, looking deep into her eyes and he didn't smile.

'I wanted to say sorry.' He said, his throat cracking. He looked away, over the other houses and back at her. Looking straight at her, never taking his eyes from her, 'I'm sorry for whatever I did. I'm sorry for the reasons you ran away, I'm sorry I am who I am…' he scraped his foot in the ground again and his voice got a hint of anger in it, he looked down '…I'm Sorry you had to run away from me, to my brother. I'm sorry I was so crap that I couldn't be everything you needed.' He looked up again. Straight into her eyes.

'You should be.' She said, keeping her voice firm. Zidane nodded, still trying to take in that she was with Kuja, he turned round and started to walk away. 'Zidane!' she called after him. He half turned round, expecting her to be behind him, but she was still at the doorway. 'Fuck you!' she shouted and a few people turned round. Zidane stood there, blinking.

'You already have.' He said to himself as he walked away from her.

Steiner nodded a couple of times at the air as he was talking on a phone and no one was there in front of him to see what he was doing. He put the phone down and turned to Beatrix.

'I have told Regent Cid to put out a search party for him. He can't have just disappeared…' He said to her as he looked out the window over Alexandria. Zidane was last spotted leaving the Industrial District; no one had seen him since. Eiko was apparently in panic and Vivi, who had gone with them to go to Lindblum again, was out helping the search. He was the one who had found the witness stating that a girl had shouted out of a doorway to 'Zidane! Fuck off' and Zidane had just turned around and walked off while the girl slammed the door. He had quizzed the air stationmasters and found that Zidane had gone to the Business District but that was it. There, they lost the thread they had been going on.

'What has happened to them?' Beatrix cried as she dug her face into Steiner's heavy bulk and

pierced his skin with her fingernails.


	9. Nostalgic tears

Zidane hung, upside down from another air station as it went to the theatre district. He had used to do this often, when you had to pay for a ride, even if it was 1 gil. Tantalus never paid for anything; just they got 'paid' in their 'job'. He fell off when they docked and slid into the opening in the wall, the one he had found once, where he and Garnet had hidden many a time. He lit a match and lit the candle he had unconsciously remembered lied on its side in a corner. Then he looked at the walls and saw the memories again and again. There were the chalk shadows they had once done. Drawing round each other and colouring them in how they saw the other person like. They were only half finished. But the faces were so detailed. Zidane remembered they had looked up at each other every few seconds to take everything of the other in. her face was there, looking back at him from the wall, and it had the love she had held for him in her eyes. He was looking back at himself too. His eyes were hard and unyielding. Zidane wondered if that was really how she saw his eyes or she hadn't managed it capture the emotion right.

And there were the signatures. _Garnet_ signed in perfect royal scrawl and _Zidane_ looking kind of rushed and too loopy. Zidane saw once again Garnet kissing his brother without even shuddering and collapsed on the floor crying at last.

Eiko, fed up of not being any help, offered to go see the disturbance in the Air station so that the Regent didn't have to. If course, Cid was glad that she was taking his place. Eiko put on her coat and rode the air station to the theatre district, which let her in., then blocked up the station again.

'Just go round the corner a bit miss. We haven't for fear that it is a monster, but you're a talented girl, I'm sure you can manage.' The conductor said with a tinge of regret that he was sending this small girl to her doom. Eiko pulled out her flute from the pocket in her coat and walked round the corner, ready to play a tune or two if something came out.

First thing she heard was the crying, and then she saw the light from a small crack in the wall. She got down on her hands and knees and looked in. she saw a boot and the end of a tail, and she smiled a bit, she had found Zidane, but he was crying. She crawled in and stood up. Zidane looked up, fearing a Lindblum guard, but almost hiccuped in relief to see Eiko there.

'Oh Eiko!' he managed to say before crying again. Eiko didn't have much time before the guards would be here.

'Shhh, lets get you back to the castle…' she said going to help him get up. Zidane threw his arm out though and hit her away.

'I'm NOT going to the castle!' He shouted with such determination, Eiko didn't have much choice.

'Ok…' she sighed and raised her flute to her mouth, where she played a soothing lullaby. In a few minutes, Zidane was asleep. She pulled him out from the crack in the wall and went round the corner. 'Hey!' she shouted to the conductor who jumped, for he expected her to be dead by now. 'Get over here and help me ok?' she said and disappeared round the corner, then came round again. 'Oh, and contact the castle and say that I've found Zidane will ya?'

Garnet took the lone girl's order and put it to the bar. Her mind wasn't on her job at the moment. It was on Zidane, and why was he finding her now, after two years? She rewound to the point when she opened the door to him, and got that flutter in her stomach again. After he had gone, she had looked at Kuja but the feeling wasn't as strong for him anymore. There had been softness in Zidane's voice she hadn't heard for years, the softness Kuja didn't have. Suddenly, remembering whom she was talking about here, she told herself it was ridiculous and remembered all the thoughts where he had taken the power from her. She loved Kuja. She did…

She got home that night to find Kuja sitting in the chair next to Mikoto and thought how sweet that was. How homely that one scene felt. And then she remembered Zidane and how she had always felt safe with him, and she never felt quite as safe with Kuja. She tried to keep the thoughts out of her head.

Later that night, se remembered Zidane's softness as bedtime, how he would let her cuddle up into him and tell him of her day. How he would listen intently, stroking her hair, and comment on the people she said about. Kuja just got into bed behind her, put his arm round her waist, dragged her across the covers to him and fell asleep. Suddenly she saw all she had left behind all those years ago, and she started to cry silently.

The first night away from the castle was the worst she had ever experienced. Not because she was lying on solid rock, cold and hungry, but Zidane wasn't there. She had taken off her (his) jacket for a pillow and it smelt so strongly of him she had cried and cried. She hadn't been able to sleep for her comfort was not there, Zidane was not there, She kept closing her eyes and thinking of him, then getting cross with herself for thinking of him, and then being right back at the beginning of this endless cycle again. But the fact was, she loved him.

She. Loved. Him.

Zidane woke up in Lindblum castle's guestroom.

'Kupo! He's awake!' Mogki said as Zidane sat up and jumped off the bed. He walked down to the door

'Sorry sir, but orders from Miss Eiko Carol herself is to keep you here.' The guards on the other side of the door said. Zidane gritted his teeth.

'Let me out!' he shouted at them but they ignored him. Giving up after a good half and hours rage, he sat on the bed again. The past day whizzed in front of his eyes until he was face to face with Garnet and Kuja again. He remembered when he had gone to rescue Kuja; He had been so stupid…

After Kuja had fainted that time, he woke up again and Zidane cut himself to let Kuja get some protein from his own blood. Garamond must have never thought this would happen, because the more of Zidane's blood Kuja drank, the healthier he got, until he was all right again. Kuja looked up at Zidane, thinking of how he could have been like him, and who this Genome had got by being himself.

'You're very lucky to have got Garnet.' Kuja said and laughed

'I know. I threw that away when I came to get you though.' Kuja knodded

'You did.' Then he got up and hacked back the roots around them. 'You were very stupid to come back for me. I didn't mean what I said, about changing. I just wanted to die dignified.' He hit Zidane across the face so he lay sprawled on the floor. 'I'm going to take Garnet away from you. At some point, she'll be with me, and she wont want to come back to you!' with that Kuja laughed and flew away, while Zidane climbed out of the hole and ran to Maiden Sari to get a boat across the water to Alexandria.

Moogles helped him with food and drink, and eventually, He landing in…LINDBLUM. He ran up to Regent Cid and he understood without Zidane even saying anything. So Zidane got to Alexandria the same way he had before. With Tantalus on a theatre ship.

When she was running to him, there was someone in the front row that Zidane was just staring at. The person stared back at him and he thought, I'm too late. But she jumped up to him and hugged him so hard; it almost made him choke. He looked over her shoulder at the guy again, and Kuja was smiling up at him, he smiled back in a 'I win' kind of way. Why had Kuja been smiling though?

He had forgotten about it, but now he remembered, and it sent a shiver down his spine. He had to get out of here…


	10. Phoning Detirmination

Eiko sat on her bed, listening to her music and thinking about things, but no matter what she tried to think about, all she COULD think about was the black mage village. Groaning, she got off her bed and called for Vivi to be summoned to her. But just after she put the phone down, it rang again. She picked it up to hear Zidane's very angry voice.

'Let me out of here!' He screamed into the phone line and Eiko, not meaning to, laughed.

'Where would you go?' she asked and Zidane stayed very quiet for a few moments. He could never lie to Eiko, something about her, maybe the childhood innocence she had, made it impossible for him to lie to her.

'To the Iifa tree. Take his place, he's taken mine…' He said and then stayed very quiet. Behind Eiko, Vivi walked into the room.

'Whose place…?' Eiko asked, dreading the answer.

'Kuja's.' Zidane said. Eiko slammed down the phone and turned to Vivi.

'We need to get to Zidane.' She said and ran out the door. Vivi, followed as quick as he could.

Garnet slammed down the order onto the bar once more and looked over the club for more customers. Her heart sank as she saw Kuja walking into the bar, his posture suggesting he was drunk…again. Garnet didn't go over and seat him, she watched as another waitress did that, and then she took the drinks and meals she had ordered for one happy couple to their table. She looked over at the waitress and her boyfriend as she was serving them and saw him grab her arse. She watched his mouth as it said something, _nice, _and remembered when Zidane had done that to her. Quickly she looked down and carried on with serving her customers.

She should have been mad at the guy for that, but she was used to it. He was always flirting with the other waitresses. It was just something he did.

'Dara?' Ruby called from up above and Garnet looked up. 'You've got a phone call from someone. Don't worry, its not _him_ or the castle.' Garnet nodded and went up to the phone.

'Hello?' she asked into the mouthpiece and a voice, a mans voice, replied

'Dagger?' it asked and Garnet scanned round the room quickly, in case anyone had heard.

'Do not call me that!' She said, accidentally reverting to her royal accent.

'What should I call you then? Princess?' the voice asked.

'Who are you?' she asked. It had to be one of her friends. Maybe Freya's boyfriend? Couldn't be Vivi… Amarant?…

'Doesn't matter.' The voice replied and she heard someone cough in the background. 'I need to ask you some questions.' Maybe it was a stranger who knew a lot about her? A pervert?

'Err…fire away?' she said, a little intrigued.

'Ok, what is the name of your boyfriend?' a pervert who knew A LOT about her.

'Umm, Kuja.' She replied. She heard some whispering in the background.

'Was your boyfriend away until a couple of days ago?' he asked

'Yes…' Garnet started to get wary.

'Where did he say he was?' the person asked

'Look, who are you? Why are you asking me these things?' Garnet nearly shouted

'Was he away about a year ago?' the voice carried on

'Yes! For Gods sake, why are you asking me this? How do you know so much about me?' Garnet shouted, glad there was a load musical on in the background

'All those black mages and genomes died. I need to know why.' The voice answered, not quavering and very calm compared to Garnet's poor ragged voice.

'…Vivi?' Garnet asked suspiciously

'Yes, Dagger.' Vivi said, his voice calm.

'Can I help?' she asked without thinking. The phone line went dead for a few seconds, not even whispering in the background

'No. Not while you're with him.' Vivi said and Garnet looked down at her nails. 'Bye princess.' Vivi said and put down the phone. Garnet put down the phone and stood there for a few seconds, looking at the black of the bar top. Then she turned round, just in time to see Kuja going off with one of the other waitresses.

Zidane watched as only Garnet came back to the house. Kuja had left ages ago, and he still wasn't back, Garnet looked stressed out. Zidane knew it was because of his brother. Summoning up all his courage he went and knocked on the door.

Garnet opened it and looked at him carefully. Then, surprising him, she opened it fully and let him in. Zidane stepped in, not a word passed between them, but they both seemed to be in join with each other again. Garnet got the tea ready, while Zidane was already opening a packet of biscuits. Zidane went to clear the table, to find Garnet already wiping it down with a tablecloth. And strangely, neither of them minded that they had just slipped back into the routine. They still didn't talk, until they had finished their drinks and were both looking at the small Mikoto. Then, Zidane brushed her tiny fingers; she looked up at him, and opened her tiny mouth

'Dada?' she asked innocently, and Zidane bit his lip. He shook his head and pointed to his chest.

'Zidane.' He said carefully and smiled at the little child.

'Sidan?' the little girl said and Zidane nodded

'Sidan.' He said and looked at the mother of this beautiful baby. 'She's beautiful.' He turned back to the little kid, 'She's got your nose,' he said, poking the little kid's nose lightly. Mikoto giggled, trying to reach up and touch Zidane's nose back. 'And your hands' he laughed as the kid grabbed his nose and tugged it.

Garnet went and stood next to Zidane.

'Dada not back yet?' Zidane asked Garnet while he turned to her. Garnet shook her head lightly

'No' she said softly. Zidane looked at his watch.

'Come and eat out with me.' Zidane looked straight into her face as he said that, her eyes clouded over. 'I'm not saying 'come back!' Dara. I'm just saying 'lets get some lunch', it'll save you from making it.' Zidane explained to Garnet's face. She nodded

'O…k.' She said, still a bit wary, as she picked up Mikoto from her cot and turned to Zidane. 'Why are you calling me Dara?' she asked him confused

'It suits you…What do you want me to call you?' Zidane asked and Garnet pondered

'Dara.' She said with a smile. They walked out the house and down the road to the air station, where they got an air cab to the business district.


	11. Broken Homes

Eiko looked round the black charcoal village and looked at Vivi, who was kneeling down in front of one house and just looking at the burnt wood shards in front of him. He turned round to Eiko and beckoned her over.

'This is where we had been breeding chocobos.' He stood up. 'They took the chocobos away. If they had killed them they would have looked like murderers.' Vivi walked on towards the synthesis shop. Eiko walked over to where the inn had once been. She scraped away some wood on the floor and saw the corner to the music box that had been in the inn. She brushed away the rest of the wood and pulled the box out. She put down the pin on the record and it started to play. Vivi turned round and looked at her.

'The song you always used to play.' Eiko commented and Vivi nodded. There had always been music going round in black mage village, this song being the one that was played the most. Suddenly the record got stuck and Eiko looked down. There was a huge scratch through the rest of the record. She stopped the music and walked on, towards the graveyard.

Eiko put her hands to her mouth and looked round at the carnage. Piles of black mages and genomes were everywhere. Eiko could hardly turn her head to look around. Everywhere she looked there was a genome or a black mage. Her eyes rested on one of the genomes and she gasped even more. Mikoto was lain there, her eyes open but with emptiness behind them. Eiko fell to her knees next to the body and touched her arm, as if expecting the body to jump up. Instead, the body moved a bit and fell off the pile. Eiko didn't jump back; she put her arms round the body and hugged it. Then lay it back on the top of the pile.

Vivi took all the things from the houses that hadn't been burnt down and put them in a rucksack. They would sell in a market. Looking around the village, he turned to the graveyard, where Eiko was. He ran up the steps, scared that Eiko would be shocked at the bodies. Eiko was lying down next to a Genome and looking into its eyes. She was smiling, as if she was in peace among the dead. She looked up at Vivi when he came near her and put out her hand to him, he put his hand in hers, expecting to pull he up, but instead, Eiko pulled him down.

'Look at this guy. He looks like Zidane.' Eiko said quietly and made space for Vivi to look into the face of the genome. He did, indeed have the same softness that Zidane had in his face. While the other genomes had hard angles and shallow eyes, Zidane and this genome had soft features.

Eiko sat up and looked round at the bodies.

'We should leave them in peace now.' She said and got up. Vivi knodded and got up too. Eiko started to walk away from the graveyard but, sensing Vivi was not following, turned back. Vivi was just standing there, looking over the bodies and the burnt down village.

'Why?' he whispered to Eiko as Eiko stood next to him. Eiko fitted her hand into his and squeezed it. Vivi looked at Eiko but she was looking over the village. He let her hand go and walked away, not sure of what he was feeling.

Garnet and Zidane were seated in a small café looking at each other while Mikoto sat there squashing her food into her carrier. The waitress put down their drinks on the table, a hot chocolate and a regular coffee. Garnet put her hands round her hot chocolate and looked at Zidane, who was sipping his coffee slowly, careful not to burn his mouth. She smiled at him, for it was so normal, the thing he was doing, but when he was doing it, it was as if it was a new thing never been done before. She watched him for a bit, not saying anything. Eventually, when it became clear he was not going to talk, she said the one question that had been playing on her mind all this time

'Why did you wait two years to come and find me?' she asked as Zidane asked

'When did you start going out with Kuja then?' Garnet smiled and looked down

'About two years ago.' Garnet replied and looked up at her husband. He just looked away and nodded. 'Are you seeing anyone new?' she asked, hoping that he was so that she wouldn't feel so guilty, then she reminded herself that she had no reason to be guilty. Zidane turned and faced her, looking straight into her eyes, and not a smile on his face throughout, he said:

'No, I'm not. I still love you.' And then he turned away again. Garnet sat there for a few moments, blinking at what he had just said.

Looking at his figure, suddenly, all she wanted to do was let him hold her again. To snuggle up with him on a bed, to tell him about all the things that was in her head. She put down her hot chocolate and put her hand on his. He looked round at their hands and then straight into her eyes, and she saw he was scared.

'Lets find an inn.' She said and smiled mischievously, expecting Zidane to smile mischievously back at her. But he removed his hand and shook his head.

'No. I love you Dagger, but I wont be used to get back at my brother, or as a toy.' He said and folded his arms across his chest. Dagger suddenly felt angry.

'What's happened to you? You've changed so much. If I would have said that two years ago, we would already be at the inn!' she exploded and Zidane shrugged, refusing to get angry back.

'A lot can happen in two years.' He said calmly. And then he looked up at her, knowing he shouldn't say it, but he did. 'And two years ago, you weren't fucking my brother.' He looked out the window again; Garnet went red in the face.

'No, two years ago, _you_ were fucking every girl in Alexandria!' she screeched at him and ran out onto the street, leaving Zidane sitting there dumbstruck. He had never done anything like that. A gurgle next to him made him look round quickly. In Dagger's hurry to get out of there, she had left Mikoto behind.

Zidane paid the bill and picked up Mikoto. He reasoned that Dagger should calm down first before he took Mikoto round there again. So he went to the fountain in the middle of the district and splashed the water around with Mikoto.

If you would have seen them if you had been walking past, they looked like father and daughter.

Kuja looked round the whole house, expecting Garnet to be there, like she always was. She wasn't there. Neither was Mikoto, and Kuja had only come back to give her a toy. He put the toy, a small elephant in a baby blue, in Mikoto's cot and turned to go when the front door opened and in walked Garnet…Without Mikoto. Garnet's hair was windswept back although there was no breeze and her cheeks were red as if she had been running, But Kuja didn't notice the distress she was in, just that she had no baby in her arms.

'Where's Mikoto?' he asked. His voice was tinted with slurs and his breath was full of alcohol. It was already getting dark outside and he could feel the coldness in the air. Garnet looked at him with scared eyes.

'A friend has her.' She lied and looked straight in to his eyes, hoping hers wouldn't give her away. Not being able to look at him long, she flicked her eyes to the carpet.

'You lie!' Kuja shouted at her and grabbed her hair. Pulling her across the floor to him he spat at her face. 'Incompetent wretch!' he shouted at her and grabbed her arms, leaving bruises on them. 'Where is she?' he demanded and slapped the poor girl across the face. Swearing to himself, Kuja dropped the princess on the floor like a doll and walked powerfully out the door. Garnet lay on the floor crying her heart out. Her nose was bleeding from it being slammed on the floor by the drop from Kuja and her hair was matted behind her ears with sweat and tears. She pushed herself off the floor and leant on a wall with her hands that ached from trying to push Kuja's body away. Garnet closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing down, telling herself that she deserved the slap, for leaving Mikoto to fend for herself from Zidane. Zidane, the name sent a shot of want for him through her body and she hugged her body, trying to get over it…

'You're grounded for going out and not telling us!' Cid bellowed at Eiko and Eiko blinked a few times.

'I was already grounded when I went out.' She pointed out and smiled to Vivi who was behind the regent. Vivi smiled back…

'Eiko! Why won't you follow what we tell you?' Cid said in frustration as he came into her room later that day.

'Because I'm not a caged animal.' Eiko replied and looked up at her 'Dad'. 'I can look after myself, I'm not a kid.' She explained and looked back down at the beads she was threading onto a piece of cotton.

'But we need to know where you are. What if you were kidnapped? If we never knew where you were, how long you would be away for, we would think you would be back soon when you might be killed or something worse!' Cid explained and Eiko sighed. 'A lot of people would like to get their hands on a little princess like yourself you know.' He added and Eiko looked up.

'But you're never around to tell and Mum would just send me back to my room and not let me out.' Eiko complained and looked down again. Cid sat there for a few minutes, thinking of a solution.

'What about a portable phone? So we could phone you to know where you are, and you could phone if you needed help? Its what we are making up in the factory now. But it doesn't work all over the world. Only in places where the mist is thin, almost non-existent.' Cid looked down at her 'which is everywhere except the Iifa tree, Bermucia, Fossil Roo and underground Dali.' Cid explained and Eiko nnodded. 'So you'd like that?' he asked and Eiko nodded again, not looking up at him.

'Can Vivi have one too? So I can talk to him!' she said exited and Cid nodded. Eiko jumped up and went to run out the room. 'Thank you Dad!' she said and then rushed out. Cid sat there for a few seconds smiling until he realised she was grounded to her room.

'Eiko, come back here!' he shouted and heard a small child's laugh getting fainter down the hallway…

Ruby was clearing up the tables from the last performance of the day when someone came into the bar. She turned round saying 'sorry, the theatres closed now.' to find no one there. She put down the glasses she had just picked up and walked cautiously towards the door. There was a gap between the door and the ticket booth, and she expected the person to be hiding there. She turned towards the space and found no one crouching there. Suddenly, from behind, she was flipped round and Zidane's rabid face was looking straight into her eyes.

'You lied to me.' He said and pushed her backwards. Then he grabbed her by her top and held her up, so she couldn't run away. 'You said she wasn't here for months, but that job was taken months ago. She had been here for all that time… and _you_ didn't tell me. Why?' he asked and lowered Ruby a bit so he could look into her face. Her face was white and her eyes were wide.

'I…She said not to. She begged me not to tell you. Please Zidane! I wanted to, I wanted to so much! But she made me promise and she looked so desperate. Many times I've wanted to pick up the phone and call you, tell you, but I couldn't. Please…' Ruby said and to her great relief Zidane put her down. 'She was so scared that I would Zidane…'she said but Zidane wasn't listening. He had his head in his hands and he was crying.

'She's back at the inn at the moment, unconscious. Kuja has beaten her up, but she didn't want me to come and get her. Oh Ruby! What did I do to make her go away?' he managed to sob out. Ruby rubbed his back and soothed him. 'I love her so much Rube. ' He said when he had calmed down from his great sobs.

'Do you want to get her back?' Ruby asked Alexandria's King and felt his head nod under her hand. 'Then go back to the inn and look after her.' She whispered and Zidane looked at her. 'She loves you still Zidane, She just has to realise it.' Zidane smiled and nodded, then got up and went to the door 'Oh, Zidane. I understand it was because of Garnet this time, but if you come and attack me next time, I'm phoning the police.' She said jokily and let the guy go…


	12. Questions and Answers

Garnet felt a cloth wipe her forehead and a pillow slotted behind her neck to keep her comfy. In the background, a gurgling was ceased by a soft voice going 'Shh' and then a small girl's laughter at something. She fluttered open her eyelids and turned her head slightly to see the scene in front of her. Kuja and Mikoto were on the floor; Mikoto was laughing at Kuja as he pulled funny faces. Dreamily, Garnet wondered when Kuja had died his hair blonde and then reality came swarming into her mind again. She tried to sit up straight quickly but Zidane was beside her in an instant.

'Good evening Dara.' He said and pushed her, slowly but firmly, back down so she was lying down again. Garnet looked at the child on the floor and saw that she was not harmed, she was playing with a small toy that looked like it had been brought that day, for the plastic was still new and shiny. Suddenly, she was aware of the sheets on her legs; she looked down to see that she was stripped down to her bra and knickers. Beside her, on the floor, were her clothes. She looked up at Zidane expecting him to be grinning like a maniac, but he was just sitting there. He ran a hand through his hair and looked straight at her. 'How many times has he hit you?' Zidane asked and Garnet looked away.

'That was the first time.' She said, her eyes scanning the wallpaper next to her head.

'Don't lie to me.' Zidane said in a sigh and Garnet's head shot round. In an instant Zidane saw the fear in her eyes and he moved his hand to put it on her arm. When he put his hand on her arm, her arm tensed and she flinched and shut her eyes together tight. 'Oh god! What has he done to you?' Zidane said, near tears as Garnet slowly opened her eyes because he wasn't going to hit her. She put her hand out to him and lay it on his arm, like he had just done. Zidane looked up and she shrugged

'I usually deserve it.' She said and Zidane looked straight up from looking at her immaculate hand on his arm.

'You really think that?' he asked, his voice full of shock. Garnet nodded and looked at him. 'Nothing anyone does means they should get hit for it. Not like that.' he said in little more than a whisper and then turned round to Mikoto.

'He hit me because you had Mikoto, I didn't know where you were.' She burst out and Zidane looked round. Then looked back at Mikoto.

'Don't you trust me?' Zidane asked with a sadness Garnet had never heard before in his voice. Garnet didn't answer; she turned away and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she was asleep.

Beatrix looked up from the paper work she had been putting off for ages and saw the knights doing the daily march round the castle to look for intruders out the window. One of the knights saw her and saluted her; she saluted back without realising it. She looked up from them and over the water, to the town of Alexandria, to the crowd that was setting up their market stalls and the small children running around. Through the middle of it all, was a carriage. She watched as the drawbridge was put down for it and then watched at it was pulled up behind it. She could just make out the sign for Lindblum on the side of the carriage and she smiled. Settling down again, she picked up another paper to work on. Everything was normal; everything was like how it should be.

Garnet dreamt of Kuja coming and taking her away, how angry he would be, and how she would be hit again and again, blood would pour out of her nose, she could taste it in her mouth. She would be gasping for breath as he kicked her in the ribs and broke them... She woke up suddenly, her mouth open and her breaths uneven and shallow.

She looked round her, she was in the bed, Zidane was on a chair, and Mikoto was in a cot next to her. She looked back to Zidane, seeing if his eyes were closed, they were. Carefully and trying not to make a sound, she got dressed and lifted Mikoto from her cot. Then she crept to the door and opened it, slipped out and closed it behind her. She got down the stairs and out the door, then she ran to the air station and took the train to the industrial district, then she ran to her house and went in. She put Mikoto in her cot and opened the door to her and Kuja's room, where Kuja was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. He looked up when she came in and his eyes lit up

'Garnet! Come here, I was so afraid you had left me.' He said in a voice that made all the hurt he had done earlier better, made her feel like he hadn't done it. She must have tripped on the stairs or ran into something to get the bruises and the cuts. She went and sat down on his knee, and put her head on his chest 'I love you so much Garnet.' Kuja said into her hair and put his arms round her. Garnet closed her eyes and leant into him more.

'I love you too.' she said and kissed him…

Vivi broke into a run and overtook Eiko; he looked back at her and laughed, then looked forwards again and nearly crashed into the wall of the inn in Dali. He stopped and swerved round it. Then waited by the wishing well for Eiko. She eventually came to sit next to him and they looked at each other.

'Ready?' Vivi asked and looked over the path to the mayor's house. Eiko looked too and saw the badly tempered mayor walking around inside the hut.

'As ready as I'll ever be…' she replied and walked over the road. Knocking on the door, she looked over and saw Vivi was holding back. She waved him over but he shook his head. She didn't have time to run over the road and get him, for then, the mayor opened the door. 'Hello sir, I need to talk to you…about the black mages.' She said and he looked her up and down. 'Can I come in?' she asked and he looked right in her face.

'No.' he said and slammed the door in her face. Eiko sat down on the step.

'I just want know a few things…' Eiko said, turning round at the end to see if he opened the door again and then turning back to look over the village. '…Do you still have the machines to make them with?' she asked into the street loudly and the door opened.

'Get in!' the mayor screeched and pulled her in. While they talked inside, Vivi watched as kids ran past him. He realised how some of them looked so much like the kids that were here last time he came here, with Zidane, Garnet and Steiner. The kids who had stuffed him in a box all those years ago. He tapped them on the shoulder and they turned to look at him.

'Do you remember putting a small black mage into a box? Years ago, he came here with three other people. A knight, a thief and a princess.' The boys looked at him blank for a few moments and then their eyes lit up

'That was my dad!' one squeaked and smiled at the stranger

'Yeah? Well, that black mage was me.' Vivi said and the boys looked at him up and down. He moved his hat up so they could see his glowing eyes and they gasped.

'Don't hurt us!' one squeaked and hid behind another kid.

'I'm not going to. That was ages ago, I just wanted to say hi.' Vivi replied and smiled at them

'H…hi.' One of the boys said and then looked at the others. They all waved and then carried on playing 'Wanna play?' the boy asked as they stretched out a skipping rope. Vivi smiled and nodded…

Eiko came out later to find Vivi lying on the grass talking to a lot of kids the same age as him, maybe a bit younger. When he saw her, he got up and said goodbye to them all.

'Ok, so what did he say?' He asked and Eiko shook her head.

'All destroyed.' She replied and he sighed, then followed her out of the village. Some of the adults in the village remembered a black mage like that one had once come to the village and they had packaged it up. The people the black mage had come with saved him, and they left on the cargo ship. Things had changed from their days, there they had been scared of the little mage, where now the kids of the village were lying next to it and talking to it…

'Of course I knew she was here…' Cid told Hilda when she asked if he had known Garnet was hiding here. '…I know everything that happens in this city.'

'Why didn't you tell Zidane?' Hilda said in desperation. Cid turned to her and looked at her with a 'can-you-not-guess' expression.

'He has to find her on his own. Its between her and him this thing, if Zidane had come here because I told him to, then Garnet would have found out, and there would be no chance of her going back to Alexandria.' He stated and walked out the room. Hilda stood there for a minute and then walked after him.

'Eiko saw her at Maiden Sari about two months ago, when I asked her if she was going to tell Zidane, she shook her head and said that Garnet didn't want her too.' Hilda said to Cid's back 'why is everyone keeping stuff from Zidane?' she asked and Cid stopped, he turned round with an angry expression.

'In that letter, the one Garnet left when she left Alexandria, she told Eiko why she left. Eiko is the only one who knows why Garnet left. Zidane's a snake Hilda; he took everything from Garnet and then threw it all back in her face. I don't want to help Zidane get Garnet, he'll just hurt her again!' he cried and walked even faster down the corridor. 'Everyone has kept where Garnet's whereabouts secret from Zidane, everyone knows where she is, but none of us are going to help Zidane…' Cid carried on

'…Except me.' Eiko interrupted, Cid and Hilda turned round to see the kid standing there, next to the black mage, a determined look on her face. 'I know the most about everything that has happened, I was the only one who Zidane would talk to over these years, I know what he has been like. I'm gunna help him.' Eiko said, turned on her heel and walked out again, followed by the black mage, who didn't utter a word.

'…What did Zidane do?' Hilda asked her husband and he sighed and led her into an empty room.

'This is all Eiko told me…' he began…


	13. Evil In His Veins

'Where were you last night? I went round your house and you weren't there.' Ruby asked. 'Did Kuja take you out for a meal?' she asked with a smile on her face, wondering if Garnet would tell her the truth.

'No, I met up with an old friend.' Garnet said, not taking her eyes from the table she was wiping down.

'Yeah? Who?' Ruby pushed, noticing the way Garnet responded, the little pause she made, the way her eyes flicked from the table to Ruby's eyes and then back to the table again.

'Zidane.' Garnet said, as if the name meant nothing. No emotion coming from those syllables.

'Really? Tell me all about it.' Ruby said as she switched the sign on the door to closed…

…When Garnet had just finished talking about getting out of there, there was a knock on the door.

'We're closed!' both Garnet and Ruby shouted

'Dara!' a man's voice called out and Ruby looked at Garnet. Garnet's eyes were scared, Ruby remembered that weeks ago, before Garnet has come face to face with Zidane again, those eyes had held such love for the person on the other side of the door. Garnet got up and went to open the door; Ruby got up so she could run away easily if she needed to. She had never trusted the man standing in the doorway. 'Dara! I thoughts you would be heres!' The man slurred as he came up to Garnet.

'You've…you've been drinking…' Garnet stumbled over a chair as she took a step backwards.

'You drive me to it Dara! You are always worrying me so much I have to drown my sorrows in ma drink!' Kuja said, his face serious. He grabbed Garnet's arm and pulled her to him. 'That's a naughty thing to do.' Kuja whispered viciously into her ear and twisted her arm behind her back 'very naughty…and naughty girls need to be punished.' He said and slapped her across the face with his free hand. Then he let her arm go and pushed her backwards, so she crashed to the floor and hit her head on a stone post supporting the second floor.

'Leave her alone!' Ruby shouted and ran at Kuja, who pushed her backwards too and kicked her. She lay there still for a bit then twitched. She looked around her theatre and saw that Kuja had gone. She got onto her hands and knees and crawled over to Garnet, who was whispering something. Ruby put her ear to Garnet's mouth and heard what she was saying

'Zidane…help me…please help…Zidane…' Garnet muttered over and over. Ruby got up and ran into the street and to the air station, flew to the industrial district praying that Kuja wouldn't be at home, and went into Garnet's house. Kuja had been there, everything was smashed and trampled, but in amongst all the rubble was Mikoto. She picked the girl up and ran out, back to her theatre again…

The first night after she had run away had been the worst…

When she had woken up in the morning, there was a man standing over her. He pushed her hair back from her face and told her how beautiful she was; Garnet had just laid there, trying to put the face to the voice.

It took a long time for her to trust Kuja. He had to do a lot to make her trust him. Had to tell her how much he had changed. Had to show her that he had changed and wasn't just saying it.

Kuja was away for a long time, but wrote to her in Mognet everyday. Garnet had Mikoto when he was away. She put the mother as Dara Tribal and the father Kuja Tribal on the birth certificate.

Kuja first started hitting her, when she had just come home from what she was doing and Mikoto was only 6 months old. He accused her of having an affair when he was gone for no reason. Garnet had begged- pleaded- that that was not the case, but it made no difference. She got a black eye; she convinced herself she had just fallen over and hit her eye on a table.

'Dagger?' someone cooed from somewhere.

'Ugh…leave me alone.' Dagger thought

'Dagger? Are you all right?' the voice asked again and a hand swept some hair from her face. She opened her eyes to look straight into Ruby's face. She pulled back to reveal Zidane's face. Suddenly she realised her head was on his lap. She got up quickly and felt light-headed.

'Is Miko…is she all right?' Garnet asked and Ruby picked up a small girl from behind her.

'I went and got her. Don't worry.' Ruby said and handed the small girl to her mummy

'Mama!' the small girl cried and hugged her. Garnet went to hug her back but Zidane stopped her.

'I'd be careful.' He said and lifted up the girl's T-shirt to reveal a huge bruise on the side of her torso, over her ribs. Garnet looked at Zidane

'Kuja.' He just said and looked away. Garnet frowned; hoping he didn't mean Kuja did that. 'Yes… Kuja did that.' Garnet gasped

'How do you know?' she managed to splutter.

'I…He…I was…He' Zidane took a deep breath 'He was in the street with Mikoto. Carrying her. She wanted something and he wouldn't get it. She started crying, he dropped her on a sitting rock, and I was getting some food to eat that night. I saw it all.' Garnet's eyes clouded over

'You're lying!' she shouted and raised her hand, she went to slap Zidane's face, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

'Why would I lie?' he asked, let her arm go and sighed. 'Just, get some rest for now, then go home and talk to your boyfriend.' He said and walked away.

'What are you doing here anyway?' Garnet asked and Zidane turned round, smiled at her secretly and walked away again. She heard the door to the theatre close downstairs and knew he had gone.

He hadn't gone. He had just gone to close the door. Then he was back and hounding Ruby to stay the night so he didn't have to rent out the room in the inn again. Ruby sighed deeply and looked at Garnet, who was asleep on the spare bed, to Zidane, in front of her on his knees basically begging to stay. 'Ok then' she said with a hint of sadness. She sorted out the sofa for him, so he was in a mass of animal print cloth, and then she went to her room and settled down for the night.

Zidane settled down for the night and lay back onto the 'comfy' sofa. He couldn't sleep. It was going to be one of those nights, he told himself as he remembered the day that had just been. Slowly he remembered every detail of that day, but all that came down to was seeing every detail of her face. The way her hair fell across her face and made shadows on her skin, the way her breathing was very smooth, and the way that she looked like she was finally at peace in her dreams. How the frown on her face softened as she put her head on the pillow and finally, how she looked at Mikoto with such love in her eyes that it nearly made Zidane cry to see her face when he lifted up Mikoto's top.

He heard as the door opened and Mikoto was picked up, when he heard the creak of the door leading down to the theatre, he considered getting up, going after her, but then he heard the front door close and knew he was too late.

'Bye Garnet.' He whispered to the dark and closed his eyes, knowing sleep wouldn't come…

Eiko looked from the paper before her to the guy beside her. Vivi had his head down, At first glance he looked hard at work, but if you looked for a second longer, you would see his rhythmic breathing and realise his eyes were closed, and his hat slipping slowly from his head. Vivi was asleep.

Looking back at the sheet, Eiko saw something she did not want to see. Vivi was number #679 black mage and on the sheet she was looking at, the sheet of black mages dead. There was number #679. She blinked and looked again, then remembered that Vivi's number wasn't 679, it was 976! She looked for that number instead and thankfully couldn't find it. Ticking off the numbers of the dead onto the sheet of the black mages ever existed, she absently wrote the dates of when they died next to the tick. Finishing the most recent dates, she looked down at the sheet and her blood froze. Vivi was the only black mage left…and the only one stopping the race of black mages dying.

Vivi woke up with a start as someone slammed the door.

'Thank god, I thought she would never go.' A cruel, twisted voice whispered into Vivi's ear. Vivi turned his head and saw yellowed teeth smiling at him. 'Now, let's play the game your friends…' a pair of hands threw the papers at Vivi's face '…played hmm?' Vivi tried to call out for help, but his voice wouldn't work…


	14. Hopeful Truth

'Please don't die.' Eiko whispered to the body, who just lay there, its breaths uneven and its heart beat broken and too slow. The unsteady beeps on the monitor became slower and his breaths more shallow. Not knowing what to do, Eiko broke down and cried into her arms on the body's chest. Her dad came and put his hand on her back and led her out the room. She didn't talk again.

She had been gone for the most of two minutes, and when she got back Vivi's eyes were wide but the glow in them had died down. She had screamed and run over to him, shaken him again and again, but that hadn't helped.

He had been in the hospital for a day now. He was constantly being rushed to theatre because his heart was having trouble, and the doctors were giving up hope of him living. Eiko was the only one who still had the hope that he would make it.

Because he would make it.

He would make it.

Why were all these things so hard? Why could one life end so quickly and another begin at the same moment? Why do people stay with the people who are hitting them and still love them? Why was he here now?

Yes, why was he here now? On her doorstep, waiting until it felt right to knock. Why was he so sure that she needed him? She kept running away form him, and, yet, he knew that she wanted him to come after her now.

He knocked on the door and she let him in, neither said a word.

Why was he going back on the promise he made to himself, to not let her use him? That's the one question Zidane pushed out of his mind. He didn't want to admit the answer to himself.

So many questions fogged his mind, he could only focus on the events happening now, couldn't think of the past, couldn't think of the future. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, so many questions that he would never know the answers to.

Why was he here now? His mind asked him again and he formed an answer. To be there for her, show her that he would always be there for her…

'Steiner!' Beatrix called him to the window. Her eyes never left the scene in front of her, her hand pressed itself to the glass pane and the other screwed up into a fist. Steiner looked out at the same scene and turned away. 'What should we do?' Beatrix asked, her voice unsteady.

'We can't do anything.' Steiner said to her and walked away. Beatrix bit her lip and looked over the kingdom again, then turned round and drew the curtains…

Eiko may have said that she was going to help Zidane, but other things had come up now. Vivi was in hospital, after being attacked. There were hurried reports coming in from the north of a bunch of weird creatures hanging around over the Iifa tree and there was a suspicious character hanging around Chocobo forest.

Everyone else high in command had other stuff to do. They didn't want to get involved with these problems, even if Vivi was their friend. Eiko couldn't believe that they wouldn't help her. She was all alone for this mission.

She walked down the corridor that seemed to stretch onto infinity until she got to the door hiding Vivi's frail form from the world. She pushed it open and walked in silently, watching Vivi as he slept. She felt strange, watching her only friend who understood what she felt like most of the time lying there with strange wires pushed into his nose and arms. An oxygen mask pushed over his mouth and held there by an elastic strip. His shirt had been taken off and his flesh stood out compared to the rest of him. Pure white, thin skin stretched over his body. His veins stood out very clearly, blue pulsing through his arms and up his neck. His eyes were closed and his eyelashes were short, almost like stubble. Eiko put her cool hand on his arm and Vivi jumped in his sleep.

'Shh, its me.' Eiko said gently and sat down on the bed next to him. His heartbeat was going steady. The doctors said that he might just survive now, although if he got exited, he might die for his heart was weak and wouldn't be able to cope with the adrenaline. 'You're strong Vivi, You can make it through this.' Eiko looked down at Vivi's gloved hands and put hers in his, squeezing it, to give her courage to go on. 'You can't die now. Not now we're so close to avenging the black mages.' Eiko smiled at her own voice and squeezed the black mage's hand again. 'I'll be back soon Vivi, I just need to go sort out a few things.' With that, Eiko got up and left the room. Vivi's lips twitched slightly and held one expression on his face for about half a second, a smile.

Kuja was back.

Which meant that Zidane could not come round anymore.

Which meant that Garnet would get beaten again.

She looked at Kuja with a bitterness he had never seen before. It wasn't fair that the one time that he decided to come back early, she was the one pushing him to stay where he was. How could he come back when she wanted Zidane to be here instead?

Kuja ate his meal while Garnet put Mikoto to bed. Then she came back and he put his arm round her waist. She literally shuddered when he touched her, his hands clammy and sticking to the fabric of her skirt.

'Come on.' He instructed her and led her towards the bedroom. Garnet closed her eyes and tried not to think about what she would have to do next. He couldn't know that she didn't love him anymore though…

…'DON'T LIE TO ME GARNET!' Kuja shouted at the poor girl and hit her across the face. 'You've had an affair while I was away haven't you!' he accused her again and Garnet held her hands over her head. She shook her head violently and tried to crawl away but he dragged her back. He pushed his

face onto hers and pulled her skirt up.

'Don't. Please…' Garnet whimpered and collapsed onto his shoulder crying…

She couldn't hide her relief as she opened her eyes and saw that she was in the Inn again. She smiled to herself and looked across the floor to the small girl playing about with some toy bricks on the red carpet.

'Evenin' Dara.' A sleep-clogged voice said from a chair over the other side of the room. Garnet sat up and looked over at him. His eyes were full of sleep, his clothes were crumpled from sleeping in them and he yawned loudly. Mikoto giggled at the noise and Zidane picked her up, blew a raspberry on her cheek and hugged her. She laughed even more and clapped her hands together over his shoulder.

'How long have I been asleep?' Garnet asked, checking she had clothes on and getting up to them. Zidane gave Mikoto to Garnet and looked at her

'Most of the day.' He said and poured some tea into a mug. Chucking the remnants from another cup and giving it a rinse under the tap he poured tea into that as well. Then he held out the first mug to Garnet and took a sip from the other. Garnet put Mikoto down and took the drink.

'Want!' Mikoto said and pouted. She picked up a small plastic cup and held it out to Zidane "Sidan. Want!' she said and pushed the cup up to him more. He smiled and took the cup, filling it up a quarter with tea and then put water in to fill it up.

'Remember not to spill it. Show Mummy how good a girl you are.' Zidane said as he passed her the cup. Mikoto smiled at him and drank the drink in tiny sips, although it wasn't even luke-warm.

'You're so good with her.' Garnet said and sipped at her own tea. Zidane shrugged and took a huge gulp of his tea.

'Kids are just like girls.' He quipped and turned away. Garnet sat there for a minute.

'What do you mean?' She asked, putting her tea down on a table and following him.

'I just mean that they're both cute.' Zidane said, back pedalling fast.

'No you don't.' Garnet kept on.

'Ok, ok, they're both easy to please. Ok?' Zidane said after a mean stare from Garnet. He smiled as he said it, like it was a joke.

'Oh, you would think _that_!' she snapped and picked up Mikoto.

'Garnet! Please! I didn't mean it!' he said and ran in between her and the door. Garnet looked at him, directed all her anger at him.

'You never change!' she shot at him and tried to walk round him.

'What have I done Garnet?' he asked her, and then he turned round and locked the door, took the key and put it in his breast pocket on his Hawaiian shirt he was wearing.


	15. Why He Took So Long

Vivi got off the bed and walked to the door. His sides were very painful, and his legs were moving very slowly. He was hunched over, like an old man, and his eyes told a story of pain and grief, doubled tenfold. He looked up to the doors, expecting to see no one, and saw a girl standing there, her long blue hair flowing in the wind and a horn protruding from her head. Vivi noticed how much she had changed from the last time he had seen her and again felt strange. She was smiling at him, her eyes big and round. He got to the doors and leant against them. He reached his arms up to her and she walked into them. Slowly, painfully, they went round her arms and back and he leant his head down into her hair. He closed his eyes and thanked the thing that must be looking out for him that he lived.

Eiko buried her head deeper into Vivi's chest and wrapped her arms round his back carefully. She knew he was hurting, but she knew how much this had taken him to do. Vivi was not a person who showed his emotions easily, and he never let anyone close to him. But now, here he was, holding her and crying softly into her hair. Eiko moved slightly and she felt Vivi wince. She stayed still again and held him more. She didn't want that moment to end, but she knew it had to at some point. She memorised everything about him then. The smell of him, the feeling of her cheek on his chest, his heart beat, his arms wrapped delicately around her…

I didn't want Zidane to be the first one to find the letter. I didn't want him to see the things I had written, the sorrow I entwined into the words. I left it with Steiner, with instructions that he make a copy of it, without my emotions entwined into the words, that he burn the letter I wrote…

Zidane went away a lot, and I suppose I should have seen it coming. I kept hearing reports of people seeing someone looking like Zidane with a lot of girls around towns and cities. At first, I ignored the comments, until an anonymous person sent me a video, clearly showing the back of Zidane's head as he hugged a girl. And another clip of the back of him as he was kissing someone. And another clip of them going into an Inn…

I thought he had changed, but I knew, deep down, that I couldn't change him. He was, and always would be, a ladies man. There were so many times that I had asked him what he had done that day, and he had just shrugged his shoulders, claiming not to remember, or not to want to talk to it. Then he would cuddle down with me, and stroke my hair, and ask her about my day. And I would tell him, thinking that he cared about every little detail. Now I see that he was just trying to avoid the subject of 'him'.

I left, knowing that he had cheated me for months, maybe years.

'I never did such a thing.' Zidane said and rubbed his head with his hands. 'You think I cheated on you?' he hit his fist into his leg 'Dammit Garnet! I never did such a thing!' he pulled at his hair on the back of his head again 'Is that why you left me?' He growled and kicked at the ground with his boot.

'I know what I saw.' Garnet replied and looked down at her hands.

'You _saw _it?' Zidane asked. Garnet nodded her head

'Someone sent me a tape. The back of your head as you hugged a girl, the back of your head as you kissed another girl, a side view of you going into an inn.' Garnet said, hanging onto the words she claimed.

'Do you still have this tape?' Garnet nodded her head again and produced a black videotape from the front of her baggy jumper that was on the floor.

'I didn't want Kuja to ever find it, so I keep it with me most of the time.' Garnet looked up at Zidane 'I made a fitting into most of my jumpers so I could hide it.' She said, smiling at the secrecy of it. Zidane took the tape and violently shoved it into the video player.

'Right…' he said and sat back as the first clip of him came onto the screen. '…That's not me.' He said suddenly and paused it. He went up to the screen and touched the back of his supposed head. 'Look, can you see that?' he said, pointing to the slice of his supposed face. 'I have blue eyes, this guy has grey eyes!' Garnet squinted and looked carefully at the colours on the screenthe slice of his face was so small, but you could just see a bit of his eye, and she had to admit it. This 'Zidane' had grey eyes.

'Ok, so that's one out of three.' Garnet said in a very cold voice and folded her arms. Zidane looked back at the screen and let the video run again. The end of the next clip and Zidane sat there for a few moments.

'Garnet.' He said and looked at her. She looked back at him. 'That was you. I was kissing you.' He laughed and rewound the tape. 'Look, I put my hands under brown hair, the same length as mine, cut with a dagger, and look again, look at the girls eyes. They're yours!' Garnet looked at the girl and gasped you couldn't see her face that clearly, couldn't see the girl that clearly, like it had been fiddled with so that you deliberately couldn't see her face. "It was when you wore the dress I got you, remember?' Garnet smiled at the memory, that dress had made her look so different, like she was finally grown up. She had so many clothes back at the castle she could wear a different one every day of the year and still have some left over. For this reason, she hardly remembered any of the clothes unless she saw them again, and that dress had been chucked out because it got wine spilt on it. Then she realised that what Zidane said was true. And they had gone into an inn; they were checking round Alexandria and the Inns, for their yearly inspection. Suddenly she felt a fool and started crying.

'I ran away for no reason!' She blurted out and felt arms go round her shoulders, she leant into the guy holding her and grabbed onto his clothes, as if he was about to walk away and she didn't want him to go.

'It's done us good.' Zidane whispered to her and stroked her hair. Garnet remembered the one question she had always been afraid to ask, for fear of what the answer was.

'Why did you wait two years to come find me?' she asked. Zidane stopped stroking her hair and pushed her off him. She grabbed his wrist. He looked down at it. 'Why!' Garnet almost shouted. Fears clogging up her brain. He was having an affair. He had been having an affair and it ended so he thought 'oh, lets go get the wife back.'

'I…I was frightened. I was very, very scared that you…Didn't want me. Well, you didn't. You walked out on me, you got Kuja…and Mikoto. And…' Zidane bit his lip, walked away from Garnet, into the bathroom and wiped his eyes on the back of his arm. 'Everybody told me not to come after you. I made a mistake and listened to them.' He said as calmly as his tears would allow.

Garnet had never seen him crying, never knew he was capable of it. He had always been her rock. He had never cried in front of her. Even when their baby died, he wouldn't cry in front of her, he would just hold her, stroke her hair again and again, but he never cried.

'Zidane…' she said and he pushed her away again and sat on the edge of the bath. He looked down, not able to meet her gaze.

'I'm sorry Garnet. I… I don't mean to cry.' He said but Garnet just smiled sadly. She put her arms round him and kissed the top of his head.

'It's alright.' She said and he hugged her back.

Later, after they had talked for ages and ages, just catching up on each other's lives, they went to bed.

'Seeing as you'll probably sneak out while I'm asleep, I'll say goodbye to you now.' Zidane said and looked at Garnet. 'Goodbye Garnet.' He said and smiled at her. She shook her head.

'Who said I was leaving tonight?' she said and lay down. A few minutes later she sat up again. 'Zidane.' She said and he looked across to her. 'Come here.' She said and opened up the bed for him. Zidane climbed in next to her and put his arms round her small frame. She fitted into the shape he was in again and he stroked her hair slowly. 'Just like old times.' She said sleepily and Zidane chuckled.

'So, how was your day today?' he asked her and she smiled. Just like old times…

'So, have you been doing the research while I was sleeping?' Vivi asked Eiko. Eiko bit her lip.

'I don't need to, I found something out…' she said and handed Vivi a paper. 'These are the times Kuja was away.' She said and picked up a few pictures. 'These are pictures of someone looking like Kuja above the Iifa tree and Black Mage village,' she gave him the last paper. 'These are the times the Black Mage village was…raided and Iifa tree became active again.' Eiko looked at the little mage.

'They're all at exactly the same time…' Vivi weighed up and sighed. 'We can't stop him on our own!' he shouted, annoyed at his helplessness. 'We need the whole gang. Come on! Get on the phones!' Vivi jumped into the chair next to a phone and started to dial numbers…

Garnet woke up to the feeling of someone kissing her eyelids and forehead light as a butterfly. She smiled and opened her eyes.

'Morning beautiful.' A voice above her head said and she smiled even more. ' I wouldn't smile too much.' Garnet lost her smile and looked at the guy standing in front of her, fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. 'I gotta go back to Alexandria. Something's happened and I need to go sort it out.' Garnet sat up in bed and looked straight at him 'I've got to go… it's your decision to come with me or to stay here.' Garnet looked down at the bed sheets. 'I'm really sorry Garnet.' He repeated and walked into the kitchen area. She heard him fill up the kettle and heard the sound it made as he placed it on the stove to heat it up. She looked at Mikoto, with her small hands and eyes that were closed in sleep. And she knew what she had to do.

'Zidane.' She said as she walked into the room. Zidane looked round, a mixture of hope and sadness on his face. 'I need to tell you something…'she began and sat down on a chair conveniently next to her.

She had been alone for the birth of Mikoto. All except for Ruby. Ruby had been running round like a headless chicken trying to get a midwife or a nurse to deliver the baby.

'How can you be having her now? You're only seven months pregnant!' she kept saying. Garnet sunk back on the soaked pillow behind her head and the water around her. She was too tired to tell her why. Too tired to do anything. 'That's it Garnet. PUSH!' she kept hearing in the background. No one stood next to her, holding her hand, she was alone apart from the pain shooting through her.

'Seven months?' Zidane asked, and Garnet turned to him.

'Kuja is not the father of Mikoto.' She said and smiled at him. 'I never knew when to tell you. You were always so busy back in Alexandria… and then I left… and I haven't had a good time to tell you till now.' Then, like she knew she was being talked about, Mikoto appeared at the doorway and looked at Zidane.

'Sidan! Hug?' she asked and outstretched her arms. Zidane laughed and reached down to the small girl. 'Love you.' She said simply and dug her head into his shoulder

'Love you too.' Zidane replied and hugged her tighter. Garnet watched and marvelled at how attached her little girl had become to a stranger

'She never said that to Kuja.' Garnet remarked and Zidane looked up at her, like he had forgotten she was there. He smiled at her and then looked down at the girl again…


	16. A Strange Kind Of Normal

Eiko lowered her arms to the side of her body and looked up with awe at the creature standing in front of her. She could never believe this creature obeyed her, loved her. It was so big and she was so small. Smiling as she took in all its power, she climbed onto its shoulder and Vivi climbed up behind her. Mandeen reached up and stroked Eiko's head lightly with one of his fingers. Vivi watched, amazed as neither Girl nor Eilodon said anything, yet they looked so in comfort with each other's presence.

'How do you do that?' he asked quietly., as if talking would break the bond the two shared.

'What?' Eiko asked, her eyes looking down at Mandeen's feet as they scraped along the dust on the floor.

'Be so… comfortable with each other's presence. Be so bonded?' Eiko laughed and looked at Vivi.

'Mandeen's always next to me. When I call him its just like suddenly he takes off his invisibility and you can see him. I can feel him with me all the time. Same as all my other Eilodons' she said and stroked a hair from Mandeen's shoulder. Vivi nodded and looked away, over the land they were travelling fast over. 'Garnet must have felt like half of her had been ripped out when her mum took her Eilodons. It must have hurt so much.' Eiko commented then fell silent again.

They stopped next to Bermucia and Eiko closed her eyes and touched Mandeen's smallest finger with her hand. He turned to her and faded away, a smile engraved on his face. She turned round to Vivi and looked past him to Bermucia Castle. It was grander than she remembered, but they were forever adding parts to it that it was always grander than what she remembered it like. As they approached the city Vivi took his hat off, letting his cream-white skin shine aloud from all the black it was covered in. He looked at Eiko and smiled weakly. They both knew that Bermucia wouldn't allow anyone wearing a hat into the city, for fear of not seeing the person's face. Eiko had never noticed before, but Vivi's hair was a mixture of browns. Mostly there were dark browns but as she looked more closely, she saw some lighter tones, and even a little blond. She smiled to herself and took the hood of her jumper down so they could see her head too.

Freya and Amarant were both there, leaning on opposite walls, glaring at each other. Eiko looked at Vivi, who was looking at her and they both smiled together. As they got closer, their silent predictions were confirmed. As the words came to their ears, they cut deep, even though they were not about them. The anger held in the words were so venomous, it could kill a monster dead.

'Save your breath Rat face.' He was spitting at Freya, His arms not moving from the cross they made on his chest and his leg not twitching from the way it 'rested', foot pushing against the wall, leg at right angles from the wall. He tossed his dread locks and looked down the raining path to the entrance of the castle.

'Shut your mouth Tramp! We've both gotta work together, so don't start now' she hissed and looked down at the floor.

'…Whatever.' Amarant said, getting bored of using words to express his opinion. He looked down the other pathway and saw a girl with long blue hair and a boy with the palest skin he had ever seen coming towards them. Freya turned to look at the entrance to the city too and saw Eiko and a boy she had never seen before. She moved away from the wall and smiled at them, side-glancing to see if Amarant had seen them too. He had.

Eiko and Vivi stopped in front of the two adults and looked at both of them. Neither of them had changed.

'Hiya.' Eiko said and got a vague grunt from Amarant and a smile and 'hello' from Freya. No, they had not changed. She noticed Freya looking at Vivi strangely and looked at him herself. Then she realised that Freya had not seen Vivi without his hat on before 'Freya, It's Vivi.' Eiko said, laughing a little.

'Hi.' Vivi said shyly and smiled at Freya with completely white teeth, Freya was a bit taken aback. 'I had to take my hat to get in here, ya know…' he trailed off and looked at the floor. He felt rough hands on his shoulders.

'Good idea.' Amarant said to the boy and nodded to him, smiling not being an option. Vivi looked at him and he looked back at Vivi, both knowing that they were outcasts of the world and both full of pain. He let go of the boy's shoulders and walked to the entrance, not saying another word.

'Come on, let's go.' Eiko said wearily and followed the red-haired man. Freya and Vivi looked at each other and then followed. Freya lagging because she didn't want to leave Bermucia again and her love - Fratley, While Vivi, too caught up in thoughts to hurry.

Garnet, Zidane and Mikoto rode on her first air ship. Mikoto was so exited. She loved the wind as it sped in her face, trying to knock her backwards as she stood on the deck. Garnet watched as Mikoto fell about the deck, Garnet being safely behind the glass shield separating the deck from the rest of the ship. Suddenly, Mikoto was blown over by the wind and before Garnet could even put down her cup of tea, Zidane was there, stroking her forehead. Suddenly he stopped and wiped his hand on his leg, then he touched her forehead again and rubbed it gently.

Zidane picked up the little girl and cuddled her to him. She had immediately reached up for him when he had come to her, knowing that he was safety. He was sanctuary. She had hurt her forehead, and as she rubbed it, showing where it hurt, she had felt a flap of skin come loose. That had caused her little mind to panic and she took her hand away quickly and burst into tears. Zidane had rubbed her forehead too, and pulled his hand back too. 'What the hell…' he muttered to himself and wiped the cloudy- white, sticky, gooey mixture on his trousers. Then he touched her forehead again and felt a small… tooth? He held back her hair and looked at the small thing, and there was a small silver horn, sticking out of her perfect hair. 'Oh my god...' he said and his face broke into a smile. He picked up the small girl and took her to her mother.

'Garnet…' he said, coming towards the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Garnet looked up, a mixture of annoyance and worry on her face. She looked at the small girl in his arms and held out her arms for her. She climbed into them and settled down, sucking her right hand thumb and holding Garnet's thumb with the other hand. Gently, Zidane took Garnet's other hand and placed it on the little girl's forehead. Slowly, he moved Garnet's hand over the small indent and watched as Garnet mouthed the same thing Zidane had muttered. She looked down and there she saw it, the little silver horn, sticking out of the girl's skin like it was the most natural thing in the world.

'Now there are three summoners in the world.' Zidane said and kissed the princess, then looked down at the little kid in her arms. 'She's going to have all the boys after her one day…' he said and Garnet smiled.

'And will you be the over-bearing father?' she joked and Zidane looked up at her

'Of course!' he said and smiled back, his smile full of happiness and relief. 'I look forward to it.' He said softly and kissed the little girl's cheek. She scrunched up her nose and blew a raspberry at him.


	17. Counting Stars

Steiner and Beatrix stood there, watching as the ship came into dock. Zidane come off the ship and then a very pretty girl holding a small child came off behind him. Steiner and Beatrix looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Who was this girl? Zidane had never said anyone would be coming with him. Zidane stopped in front of them and the girl came up to his side. She smiled weakly at both of them and put the girl down on the floor, where she ran to Zidane's side and slipped her hand in his, while sucking her thumb and looking up at the two people with big eyes.

'Surprise.' The woman said weakly before she was engulfed in he biggest bear hug ever from Steiner and when he released her, Beatrix was clinging onto her neck and scolding Zidane for not telling her Garnet was coming back. Zidane smiled and scratched his head.

'But this is Dara…' he said and smiled at her. Garnet burst out laughing as Steiner's and Beatrix's faces went blank.

'That was the name I was using so no one would know me.' Garnet explained and looked over at Zidane. 'Look, I know I haven't been a good queen. But, I am ready to start again, this time I will not fail.' She stated and nodded at the two knights. Silence fell around them and they both looked at each other.

'Garnet, we would be honoured if you became Queen again.' Beatrix said in a half-whisper and Steiner nodded along to it. Garnet turned to Zidane and he looked straight back at her.

'Well, would you be ok with it?' she asked and Zidane picked up Mikoto.

'I was never any good at it. You're the one who needs to run this joint, so you don't need to ask for my permission to do it.' He leaned over to her ear and whispered something into it that made her smile. Then she turned round to her knights again

'So, what did you call Zidane back for? I think I'll handle it.' She said and followed the two knights down the hall.

Zidane looked at the girl in his arms. In had been a long day for her and she was already half asleep, her head leant on his chest. He didn't follow them down he hallway, instead he went down one to the right and walked into the royal chamber. He lay the girl down on the master bed and tucked her in. she looked up at him with big, innocent, pure eyes.

'Nightie Sidan.' She said and accepted the kiss he put on her forehead, next to her small horn.

'Night.' Zidane whispered back and walked to the door. The little girl let out a squeak.

'Alone?' she pleaded and Zidane smiled and turned round 'Sidan!' she squealed and pulled her hands up from the covers. He leant his head down over her and she hooked her arms round his neck. Careful not to sit on her leg or foot, Zidane sat down next to her and leant on the bedpost.

'What if I stay here until you sleep?' he asked and Mikoto nodded. She lay down again and closed her eyes. Five minutes later, she was asleep.

Zidane went outside and found a knight to guard the little girl, then he went and found his wife.

Freya and Amarant came in first, their eyes flickering to the side every few steps to check the others position. Each of them in a defensive, ready-to-attack stance. They walked up the steps of Alexandria castle and followed the two guards who showed them the way to the royal hall. It wasn't as if they couldn't run round this whole castle with their eyes closed and still know where they were, but they wanted to keep up respect for the castle and the inhabitants within. After them came Eiko and Vivi, their hands brushing slightly as they walked and their eyes flicking to each other every few steps, but this time, they both kept looking at the same time, and smiling at each other when they did.

Freya and Amarant stopped in their tracks as soon as they came in the door to the hall. They had been expecting just Zidane, in tears and hardly able to talk. But instead a Queen in a glittering silver dress sitting on a King's leg greeted them, They could only see the back of the Queen's head, but they knew who it was. Eiko and Vivi came in behind them and they almost stopped breathing as well.

'Garnet!' Eiko screeched in such a child-like manner it almost made Zidane look up and expect to see Mikoto. Garnet looked up straight away and slid off his lap, then she looked at her old friends and curtsied to them. Immediately, Eiko and Freya were apon her, hugging her so hard she could hardly breathe. Amarant just looked at Zidane and nodded to him, a hint of what you could have described as a smile on his face. Vivi just stood there, taking in all the emotion in the room, desperate to just get out of there so he wasn't reminded so much of how happy he had been at Black Mage Village…

'I made such a mess…again. I'm so sorry.' Garnet added at the end of her story. Amarant just grunted, emotion not entering his voice. He would never admit he had actually enjoyed the story, felt her pain, her sadness, as if it was his own. Vivi and Eiko looked at each other and looked back at Garnet.

'Everyone makes mistakes.' Eiko said

'Mistakes, everyone does make.' Vivi said at the same time and they both looked at each other with confused expressions.

'That sounded like Zorn and Thorn.' Freya remarked and came up to the Queen 'It you didn't make mistakes, you wouldn't live. If you hadn't run away all those years ago, you would never have found Zidane. If you hadn't of run away now, you might never have realised how special he is. Everything is for the best.' She said and patted her shoulder. 'So, will you come with us?' Freya asked and looked deep into the other girl's eyes. Garnet was terrified of the guy she had spent two years with, but suddenly she felt someone's hand on her other shoulder, a harder, firmer gripped hand than Freya's. Zidane. She smiled and nodded

'Yeah, lets go kick his butt once more!' she surprised everyone by saying and then laughed as everyone looked at her with surprise she even knew those words. 'Hey, its what you get from living with Zidane…' she said and trailed off as everyone began laughing. 'Lets rest here for the night and set off in the morning?' she suggested and a murmured agreement followed. Everyone trailed off to the guestrooms, except Eiko. She smiled up at Garnet in a 'leave us alone?' gesture, which Garnet took and went to check on Mikoto.

Eiko hugged the king of Alexandria.

'I'm so glad you got her back.' She said and Zidane laughed

'You're the one who made sure I knew when she needed me. When Kuja had just gone and she was all alone.' Zidane replied 'You're the one I should be thanking.' They stopped hugging 'and yeah, I'm _very_ glad I got her back.' He smiled and Eiko walked away. 'Oh, and Eiko?' Eiko turned round. 'Vivi is a good boy, you two are good together!' he joked and Eiko laughed but inside she felt very weird.

'Home again.' Garnet said into Zidane's bare chest. 'I never thought I'd be here again.' She explained and felt Zidane stroke her back.

'I never thought you would be either.' He whispered. Mikoto was mumbling to herself as she sat on the covers at the end of the bed. 'I never thought my little girl would be here either…' Zidane held out his arm to Mikoto, who crawled underneath it. 'My little summoner.' He whispered into her hair and kissed her head on her parting.

'Lets just get some sleep. We'll need it for the days ahead of us.' Garnet mumbled sleepily. Zidane pulled Mikoto into the bed with them and she snuggled down on his pillow in front of him. He kissed the top of her head again and leant over and kissed Garnet's lips softly.

'Night night my favourite girls.' He whispered to both of them and closed his eyes too.

Eiko went out into the castle's gigantic court and wandered down to the steps going to the river. She saw a boy there, he had his hat off, it was placed next to him, and his hair was scruffy from endless amounts of twisting and turning in his bed. He looked up as she approached and smiled sadly.

'Couldn't sleep.' They both said at exactly the same time and looked opposite directions. Eiko sat down a few feet away from him.

'Come closer.' He said and looked over at her. His eyes were taking her in as she slid the few feet over to him. He smiled and looked up at the stars. 'There are so many stars…' his golden eyes reflected the stars slightly and it gave Vivi a sad quality. 'In black mage village we would try to count the stars. We always fell asleep before we finished. No. 469 was very good at naming all the stars, he knew all the constellations and everything.' Eiko looked at him

'J…just because black mage village is…it doesn't mean you cant do the things you used to do with them with other people. Live on the legacy.' Vivi looked at her sideways and looked down, shaking his head slightly. She was right, why let black mages' traditions fall down just because there were few black mages left?

'It was No. 469's birthday today.' He mumbled as he looked up again. '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…' the next thing surprised him as much as it did with Eiko. He turned to her as he was still counting and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms fiercely around her, he felt safer in himself. He looked down at her, worried that she would be repulsed by what he had just done but she was smiling up at him. He leant down a bit, she tilted her head up and their mouths connected for a second. Vivi pulled away fast. That was too much for the moment. Eiko understood and looked up at the stars.

'Which ones had you counted?' she asked and wrapped her arms round Vivi's waist.


	18. Calling Eilodons

'Ok, so we're all ready to go.' Zidane butted in from Freya and Amarant's heated argument about who had brought what. They turned to him and nodded, subdued. Garnet laughed at the two of them and put another potion in her back-pack, just in case.

'You remind me of little kids!' she explained when they looked at her and Freya smiled slightly. Yes, when she had first met Garnet, she had just thought, oh great, another princess running away from her duties but it was impossible to keep that attitude around her. Her simplicity and innocence – that had been taken away from her now – had been, and still was, very sweet and made you want to protect the girl.

'Ok, lets go before I stop running!' Vivi's voice interrupted and they looked at him, he never made joked about dying. But then they noticed his fingers entwined with the blue-haired girl next to him. Cid wont be pleased with that, thought Zidane as he laughed and started to walk off the air ship and onto the earth next to the very active Iifa tree.

'Come on then, let's go!' He shouted and started running towards the danger. And danger it was…

Garnet rushed up to Zidane as he fell backwards and an explosion of ice shattered around him. She dodged several ice shards that shattered near her until one broke in front of her, barring her from Zidane. She screamed in panic and hit the ice shard with all her might. It moves slightly, making room for her to slip through gap it left between it and another next to it. Throwing herself towards the hole, she broke through it, ice shattering around her and cutting her face like a razor. There was Zidane. She crouched next to him and finally managed to get her thought together to cast a simple spell, Shell. She heard ice hissing behind her and she turned round to see Vivi melting the ice so the rest of the group could catch up with them.

'Garnet?' Zidane croaked out and she turned round again to see the guy lying there, he touched her bloodied cheek 'why is Shiva attacking you?' You're her master.' Garnet bit her lip and shook her head

'No… Kuja is.' She whispered, full of sadness. Then she burst out crying, knowing that she was in so much danger and that she couldn't let her guard down, and crying was for little kids. She burst out crying and couldn't stop while the world became an ice field around her. 'He said that if I loved him, I'd give him my Eilodons. He'd let them out on his trips, make sure they were looked after.' Tear stained eyes looked at Zidane 'I'm so sorry. I'm so bloody sorry.' She wept into her hands again.

Zidane got up painfully and rubbed her back. Suddenly, he felt a healing sensation in himself and looked around, there stood Eiko, chanting a healing spell at him.

'Hey you. Get up. This is no time to sleep!' she said and tugged at Zidane so he was standing again. She knelt down next to Garnet and whispered in her ear. Then pulled Garnet up too. 'We'll get them back. They've known and loved you for longer that they've known Kuja.' She said and smiled at Garnet.

'Thanks Eiko.' Garnet replied and smiled at her. Suddenly, she noticed how much Eiko had grown. When she had met Eiko she was no taller than Garnet's hip, but now she was almost as tall as the princess.

'You know what to do, Princess Garnet.' Eiko mocked and took a few steps back. Garnet took out her staff and started to call to her old Eilodons. They came to her one by one, wary, suspicious of this character they known so well but knew so little about anymore.

It took a long time For Garnet to embrace each of them and make them trust her again. Bahamut eventually bowed to her and vanished by her side. Ark was very stubborn but eventually he, too, trusted this princess again. Time was something the group had. Garnet and Zidane, both knowing Kuja's mind, knew he would be just waiting for them, not trying to stop them or anything.

They pressed on, deeper into the flailing roots of the Iifa tree…

Kuja twirled a lock of his own hair round his finger. They were coming, and soon they would be through the door in front of him. Then they would get a surprise he looked across to the child who lay asleep on the floor.

'Mummy's coming sweet.' He said and touched her cheek. She flinched away from the cold Kuja's fingers were surrounded by.


	19. Facing The Enemy

There was no noise coming from behind the door but Zidane knew Kuja was behind there, waiting and ready. He stopped in front of the door and let his hand fall down before it pushed the door open. He turned round at them all and wondered if he was the only one who felt the cold leaking out from under and around the door's bulk. The rest of the group all looked at him with determined faces. They too knew that Kuja was behind that door and they were going to get him for all he had ever done. Vivi drank ether quickly and then stood next to Zidane, they looked at each other, and a link of agreement swept through them. They were the ones most affected by Kuja, and they were going to make him pay once and for all.

They pushed open the door together and ran towards the grey haired man, drawing staffs and daggers as they did so. Kuja was just sitting in front of them on an imitation throne he had made up. His feet were over the arm of the throne and he was holding a child in his arms. The child was terrified, crying and screaming. Kuja was looking at it like it was a stupid doll.

With her staff in her hand, Garnet froze as she saw her daughter being held in such a way. Zidane was just standing there, his eyes fixed on the scene in front of him.

'Kuja.' Garnet said and Kuja's fascination on Mikoto slipped away and it settled on Garnet.

'Garnet. Nice of you and your useless tin-can man to pop in. and you brought my brother with you, how kind. And is this a 'sorry' present? The last black mage, brought straight to me so I can kill it right now? Not to mention the annoying little brat summoner and a rat to exterminate.' Kuja got up and, with Mikoto in his arms, took a few steps forwards. 'Sorry, I almost forgot you, Amarant. We could have made quite a team if you would have just listened to me before you went to get your 'mission' of getting the pendant back from Garnet all that time ago.' Amarant grunted and glared at Kuja like he was an ant. 'So, Garnet. Why did you run off with my _brother_? Was I just a disappointment? And you told me all the time how you thought I was so much better than him.' Kuja smiled at Garnet and turned to Zidane

'You're scum. No brother of mine.' Zidane spat and held his daggers even tighter.

'Oh? Is that so? Well, I'm so _glad_ we sorted that out.' Kuja's voice was flat as he said that, coated highly with dead irony.

'Give Mikoto to me.' Zidane said between gritted teeth. He didn't doubt for a second it actually WAS Mikoto, not just a phoney trick.

'Catch.' Kuja said and threw Mikoto into the air. Garnet screamed as Zidane threw down his daggers either side of him and ran to save Mikoto from cracking her head open on the stone floor. He caught her just it time and tucked her into his chest. Then, all at once, Kuja was upon him, an invisible barrier with a yellow sheen to it segregated Kuja and Zidane from the rest of the group and Zidane's daggers, now the group could only stand there and watch. Zidane curled himself round Mikoto and closed his eyes as Kuja kicked him in the back and then in the neck, where Zidane's reflex action was to move his head up to protect his neck and then Kuja kicked and punched him at the same time into the face. The rest of the group watched in horrified silence as Zidane slowly lost his health and his grip on Mikoto. He couldn't defend himself because he had to defend Mikoto and Kuja knew it. 'You just couldn't leave her alone could you _brother._ You just _had_ to get her back even if it meant bringing up your brother's kid as your own.' Kuja growled angrily as he kicked Zidane in the face again and again

'She IS mine.' Zidane yelled and Kuja suddenly stopped kicking him. Zidane didn't get up, he curled himself more round Mikoto and covered her face with his hands, squashing her into his frame as much as he could, because he knew what Kuja would do now. Kuja looked at Garnet who smiled evilly and the barrier wavered and then dissipated. The group all fell over and then Kuja remembered then and vines grew out of the floor and pinned them down.

'You BITCH!' Kuja screamed and walked purposely towards Garnet, who couldn't hide her face as she was pushed up to kneel by the vines and then her head was brought down onto Kuja's knee and everyone heard the sickening crack. Then the room was filled with Garnet's gulps of breath and sobs as blood flooded in front of her eyes. 'Careful dear, you'll get your blood on me.' Kuja considered, calmly and lightly. Then he turned back to Zidane, who had half got up and had Mikoto in his arms. 'Give her to me, brother.' Kuja said and opened his arms. Mikoto cowered further in Zidane's safety. Zidane wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

'No.' Zidane said, blood was welled up like tears in his eyes and down his face, but he wasn't going to give up. Even if he didn't survive, Mikoto would. Kuja walked fast over to him and grabbed at Mikoto's arm, then he pulled and Mikoto screamed in agony. Quick as a flash, Zidane's leg came out and hit Kuja's legs so he fell over and let go of Mikoto. Zidane picked Mikoto up and ran to the side, put her down and ran to his daggers.

In that small, un-anticipated move, Kuja had forgotten to keep the vines round the rest of the group and they got up quickly grabbing their weapons. When Kuja got up he came face to face with Phoenix and Ifrit, but he just laughed, made a cutting action with his hands and they wailed and disappeared. Eiko and Garnet reeled back with the shock and felt the two Eilodons die inside them. Freya had jumped up high and was now coming down with ever more speed towards Kuja while Steiner ran full on at him, but with a flick of his wrist, they both bounced off a barrier and fell at Kuja's feet, where he blasted a spark at them, like a mini-holy and a glow enveloped both of the two knights. When the glow subsided, the knights were lying very still. Amarant was trying for a back attack but at the last second Kuja turned round and did exactly the same as he had done with Freya and Steiner, and he too lay very still afterwards.

Kuja laughed at their pitiful efforts and pointed at Vivi, who had not done anything yet and pulled him with an invisible rope forwards.

'Do you know how much I _enjoyed_ killing you defections? A village where black mages live in peace?' Kuja laughed harshly.

'You're a monster. You killed your kind too.' Vivi said incredulous. Kuja laughed.

'There's already one too many of them genomes against me. I didn't want a whole army.' Kuja replied and with his other hand that wasn't holding Vivi there, he took Vivi's staff out of his hands and smashed it against the wall, where it fell down in two useless pieces. 'I tried to kill you before but your precious little summoner saved you.' Kuja sent his hand out behind him and stopped Eiko who was running silently towards him. He brought her round to next to Vivi. 'What a match! Two demented misfits.' Eiko tried to punch him but he laughed at her and threw her against the wall, just as he had done with Vivi's staff. She dented the wall, her eyes open in shock, and then she fell down to the floor with a smack. She twitched once and then stayed still. Vivi had tears falling from his eyes as Kuja took off his hat and threw that away over the other side of the room as well.

'Do you want to know how I killed your little friends?' Kuja said as he smiled a victorious smile down on Vivi. Vivi looked up at him with big eyes, his mouth twisted in horror. Kuja raised his free hand and a ball of energy started to gather. Vivi looked frantically over at Eiko, tears staining his cheeks with wet trails. Then he kicked his legs forwards and Kuja fell backwards, the ball of energy dissolving and Vivi was thrown backwards. He got up and ran to Eiko.

Garnet finished casting Holy (Eiko and Alexander had taught it to her) as Kuja fell over and as Kuja opened his eyes, he was showered with pure white energy. Zidane squeezed Garnet's hand and walked carefully over to Kuja. His daggers again in hand he didn't walk all the way up to Kuja, a few feet from him, Zidane stopped and looked critically at his brother.

'Get up Kuja. This was always about you and me… so lets keep it that way now. A fight to the death, proper death, not just a deep coma.' Zidane said and his friend's head snapped round to look at him. Kuja lay still for a few seconds and then a deep laughter came from his mouth and he flew straight up to his feet again.

'Ok. No limits. Anything goes. Yes? GOOD!' Kuja laughed and flew up into the air, doing a flip and landing down behind Zidane. Then, before Zidane could turn round he was thrown across the room and crashed into the wall. 'We'd better clear the area huh?' Kuja said cruelly as he looked at the bodies of Freya, Steiner and Amarant in the middle of the room. He made a sweeping motion with his hand and they slid across the floor to the side of the room where Garnet and Mikoto were running towards Vivi and Eiko.

Zidane got feebly to his feet and looked at his enemy. Although Garnet had healed him again, his life was already down by half. He mustn't let Kuja do that to him again. He ran at Kuja with his daggers out but Kuja sidestepped him and hit down on his head with his palm, Zidane lost his footing and fell over. He got up and turned to see Kuja's fist smash into his face and he fell down again. Garnet had revived Eiko now and they were helping Amarant and Freya up as well. Amarant, when he was what was happening, ran at Kuja who brushed him back again and told Zidane in a loud, clear voice.

'Tell you friend's to stay out of this. Like you said, this is between you and me.' Kuja said. Zidane got up and smiled at his brother, flipped round and stood there in trance. 'Trance huh?' Kuja asked like it was the most normal thing in the world. 'I'll have that then.' He said and flew his hand at Zidane, who felt his energy being sucked out of him and saw glitters of gold and silver seep into Kuja's skin. He almost yelled at the injustice. He was going to die and everyone knew it. He ran blindly at Kuja as he was absorbing the trance and slashed at him with his dagger. He was surprised to feel warn blood splatter onto his hand and he turned round to see Kuja bent down, his hands on his face. Zidane smiled as he ran at Kuja again and slashed his hand deeply. Kuja got up and looked straight at the oncoming Zidane with a straight face and glowing eyes.


	20. The Untimate End

'You know she left you because she knew you'd never make her truly happy.' He said coldly and clearly. The words pieced Zidane's ears and he stopped his change.

'That's not true.' Zidane said defiantly but didn't carry on his charge.

'Yes it is.' Kuja folded his arms 'and you know it is.' He whispered and the dagger in Zidane's hand sagged and dropped to the floor. Both Kuja and Zidane looked at it lying there.

'It isn't true.' Zidane repeated but his voice was wavering.

'You always knew it was. That's why you never chased after her straight away. You thought it was for her own good, that she would now find happiness and you were happy to let her go because of that one fact.' Kuja carried on 'and so, when you did eventually go after her it was only because of your selfishness and not because you thought she would be happy with you.' Zidane staggered back and fell backwards, off balance. 'I know brother. I know.' Kuja said with compassion and walked to Zidane, picking up his dagger as he went.

'It's not true Zidane!' It's NOT TRUE!' Garnet screamed at Zidane and he looked at her, but it was too late for those words to mean anything, Kuja was right. She would never be happy with him, the thief that wanted a taste of the high-life. So, he didn't react when Kuja kicked him in that face, just bounced back up to be hit again, but his little mind was thinking and suddenly everything fitted into place. Freya had said how Garnet running away had been for the best and it had been. Now they both appreciated each other fully and they both knew they could never get any happier. _They could never get any happier._

As Zidane came up again he raised his fist and punched Kuja straight in the face before Kuja had a chance to hit him again. Then Zidane got up quickly and kicked Kuja in the stomach, in the head and then his back as he rolled over, trying to protect himself. Zidane drew his other dagger and stabbed down at Kuja.

'She may never be _truly_ happy, but at least she wont be beaten every night. At least her partner will love her totally and never harm her.' Zidane gritted out as his dagger went in, out, in, out of Kuja's body.

'Zidane…' Kuja said lastly as his eyes glazed over and he died. Zidane knew what he was going to say, but he didn't want to hear it, think about it. He got up and wiped his hands on the end of Kuja's robe. Then he turned to Garnet and hugged her to him. Picking up Mikoto and hugged her too, burying his head into her, and fully appreciating her.

Eiko sat next to Vivi and wrapped her arms round him. He leant into her as he cried over what Kuja had said and somehow slipped his arms round her too. _Two misfits two demented misfits_ he thought as he hugged her.

'Whatever Kuja said, whatever he did, Vivi, look at me…' Eiko whispered to Vivi, who looked at her, his lips trembling, '…whatever he said or did Vivi, It meant nothing. Nothing you hear? He didn't kill us, you, and whatever he said, it was just to break you down, stuff to tie you up so you couldn't fight.' Eiko reassured him

'He said we were misfits. Demented misfits.' Vivi said and to his surprise found he was laughing as he said it.

'Yeah, I know!' Eiko laughed too, out of relief and shock and a million other feelings too deep to describe.

'Hey guys, lets get out of here and back to Alexandria, yeah?' Zidane called out. He had Mikoto balanced on his hip and his arm round Dagger. He looked completely at ease.

'We should bury Kuja.' Freya said. She was looking at the bloodied body with contempt. 'No matter what he did, we should let him he only bit of dignity he'll ever have by burying him.' She said and started to dig a hole with her hands. Zidane nodded and put Mikoto into Dagger's arms. Then he too helped dig a hole. Then Amarant helped and the three of them dug a hole deep enough to pass for a grave. But only Zidane dragged Kuja into the hole and only Zidane covered him up.

'Goodbye Brother.' Zidane stated once he was finished and then walked back to the rest of the group. Then they all went back to the airship and back to Alexandria.

Beatrix ran straight up to Steiner as he came off the airship, relief flooding her eyes.

'I thought you'd died. You were so long.' She said as she wrapped her arms round his bulky frame. Steiner went red with embarrassment in front of his friends. When she let go of him she turned to Zidane and Garnet and breathed another sigh of relief. 'Kuja took Mikoto by using vanish on himself and her, walked straight past the guards both times. I strongly inform you to sack them. But I'm so happy you got her back!' she said and took Mikoto from Zidane's arms and hugged her. Mikoto immediately tried to reach back at Zidane again. Garnet smiled at her daughter and at her husband, slipping her hand into his. He looked down at her and smiled back. _We're home. _ He seemed to say with his eyes and leant down to kiss her properly for the first time in over two years…

…Two years later…

'That was Eiko, just saying how Vivi and her are travelling to Madain Sari soon and was wondering if I would want to go.' Garnet said as she walked back into the room to see Mikoto and Zidane doing a very easy jigsaw. Zidane looked up from watching Mikoto fit a piece of the puzzle together.

'Do you want to?' he asked and Garnet shook her head.

'I'll go later on in the year. I'll take Mikoto, I don't want her not to know that place. What do you think?' Zidane smiled up at her, then jumped up next to her

'As long as you phone me every day.' He said and kissed her. Garnet smiled at him and walked out the room again…

Later, when Mikoto was playing with the kids in Alexandria, so she would be accepted by Alexandria and her people and so she felt completely at home there, Zidane found Garnet in the throne room, looking over maps of the continent.


End file.
